~ Blume ~
I wake in a cluster of bodies, newly lain eggs underfoot, fresh-hatched daughters squirming and begging for food. Dawn calls us. Feel its scent-song pulling at our antennae. Remember the warmth of sun on my fur, the sweetness of lavender. Thought I’d miss it when I went to nest, but other things take over.
My daughters—my daughters—scurry around me, pressing pollen and nectar to me so that I will eat. Eat and lay. That’s the lot of a queen. Endless motherhood in the dark, only a few short weeks in the sun.
The thrum of my daughter’s wings fills the nest. They will fly, my daughters, and forage, returning with stories of flowers and sunlight and fresh fields.
The nest busies as they wake, igniting their engines. Gossamer wings flash in the rising sun. The world is a bright cir
