Bumblebee
Last night, I dreamed of a bumblebee
Of which I’m afraid terribly
When I saw it, I doubled back, blinked twice, grabbed my head
Fell down on the ground
And scraped my knee
It had a round bod, and brown eyes
And wings almost too small to see
It wasn’t lacking beauty, it had no fears, it was carefree
That was until it approached me
It spiraled out of control, fluttered its wings, and tried taking off in another direction
Fast
It tumbled slowly to the ground after flying into glass
It was so small
It shook, buzzed, and rattled as it tried to pick itself back up
How did a carefree bumblebee become so afraid when it saw me
I’m afraid of it
I’m also allergic
I would’ve never hit it but I don’t want to be near it
I’m afraid of the sting
Did my presence end this bumblebee’s life?
Will it get back up again?
Why do I care?
I’m afraid, so why wait to see if it’s okay?
It’s just a stupid insect, right?
Now’s my chance
I could step on it. I could run away.
No words... no words explain why I would take a step closer
The rattling slows
Is it because it’s getting weaker or because I’m getting close?
I kneel down with compassion
I’m facing my fears
Do insects cry? Can they even make tears?
I can see the bee isn’t as weak as it appeared
Before
As I lean in, it’s wings started flapping again
They got stronger and stronger
It persevered, it was going to live
I almost got scared and ran off
After all, that’s still a bumblebee, right?
Instead, I doubled back, blinked twice, grabbed my head
Fell down on the ground
And I scraped my knee
In shock to realize
That the bumblebee was me
