The Pitcher Plant - A Poem
Rinita is a creative writer, with focus on poetry. She delves into several forms including Haiku/Senryu, Sonnets, Free Verse, and Prose.
Background
This poem is about realizing that when someone does something that doesn't seem right to you at the first glance, when you dig deeper you may often find that there was a purpose behind that action, and that realization is all that it takes to have a heart to forgive them.
It is a story about a pair of bumble bees who love and live a happy life, until one day one of them is eaten by a pitcher plant. The bereaved bee mourns his companion's death, but realizes in the end that it was only natural for the pitcher plant to hunt for its food, and that enables him to die a peaceful death by forgiving the so called murderer plant.
The Pitcher Plant
The Poem
I
They flew side by side
In a stream of sanctity
Love bloomed on their wings
That could last an eternity
Through the woods they sang
Merry tunes of jolly days
Upon flowers they perched
Their wings in colorful ways
From brown trunks to green leaves
They swayed with shining glee
Among friends and no foes
They vowed to raise a family
II
He broke away in search of sweet
Honey for his little dear ones
While she surfed in the lights
To reach the flock of flora that stuns
The beautiful pitcher opened its arms
And invited the luckless bee within
Down she went rapid and weak
Her screams drowned with her skin
He sensed a misgiving, and flew
Toward the satisfied, ruthless pitcher
He sat and wept till the curtains drew
The moon shone on the plant richer
III
The young ones grew free and fresh
With sweet nectar spreading joy
The old bee still pined in the forest
Building a shrine of the pitcher convoy
Until under one bright full moon
His strength seemed to give away
Young bees gathered, and asked “Dear,
What made you prolong your stay?”
He shot a weak glance at the pitcher
And explained in a wise, somber tone,
“Just as we rob the nectar from the flower,
We are their food, so leave them alone.”
© 2012 Rinita Sen
