I smelt it yesterday in a viney hedge.
Today I see its blooms, white and yellow.
It pulls me into childhood, into memory.
So I pick a yellow one, squeeze its tip,
And pull gently, waiting for the drip.
Ah, honey dew! One perfect nectar!
When I was five, my brother
Whom I adored, showed me how
To harvest honeysuckle.
We spent a golden hour in the backyard
Sipping to our hearts' content.
I asked if we could fill a bucket
one drop at a time, and he said
technically, yes. Magic, I thought.
He lifted me on his shoulders and
I was taller than I'll ever be.
Neither of us learned the secret of the honeysuckle,
Neither gathered a bucket drop by drop.
I have lost that brother to the pain of life,
But today I tasted honey dew and remember him.
Bayboro, NC, 2024
copyright by the author