And the Amorites, dwelling in that mountain, came out
towards you and pursued you as bees do
– Deuteronomy 1:44

Everyone I know has been stung by a bee
at one point or another. Not you yet?
This is not meant to be prophecy.

When a bee pursues you, you don鈥檛 realize it
until it鈥檚 already happened. Until its stinger
has penetrated your skin.

Could this have been avoided?
Probably not. We鈥檙e rarely aware when
we鈥檝e intruded on its territory or

have been perceived as a threat.
The stinging, the first indication that
anything was wrong.

It is the immediate hours following
as our lip swells (In my case it was
my lip. What can I learn from this since

this is where all my words come from?)
that we learn the consequences of our
intrusion. Did we even need the honey?

A group of ancient Israelites were
pursued like bees. They didn鈥檛 heed
the warning which, had they done so,

would have prevented a brutal stinging.
If your goal is to cross the river
better to not go after the bees.

We need them more than you know.
Moving from flower to flower
they make everything happen.

聽(an online publication and resource for poets), and hosted the聽Cobalt Cafe weekly poetry reading for almost 21 years. He鈥檚 authored 25 collections of poetry, including 鈥溾��, 鈥溾�� (91传媒 themed poems) and 鈥溾�� (Poetry written while a staff member on the first Birthright Israel trip), and most recently 鈥溾�� (Poems written in Japan 鈥� Ain鈥檛 Got No Press, August 2020) and edited the anthologies 鈥溾��, 鈥溾��, and 鈥�.鈥� He writes the daily web comic 鈥溾�� with fellow Los Angeles poet Brendan Constantine. He鈥檚 widely published and reads his poetry wherever they let him.