teacher’s anecdote

last week I was teaching

about the moral status of animals

and why some may want to deny it

no soul, no ‘ratio’, no language

fervent discussion in class

questioning one’s attitudes

the same week, serendipitously

I received one of the most

valuable gifts for a teacher -

a real life anecdote

a relevant experience to move

imagination, build empathy

take debate outside the text

It was the bees who extended

their grace beyond already saving

our planet and who made a home

a delicate, intricate construction

under my kitchen chair

the blooming lilacs and the wide

open window must have blended

the borders of their world and mine

Or is it ours?

I felt honoured but carefully

took off the piece of art and

showed the bees a way out.

That’s it, I thought

the next morning, coffee in one hand

bees’ nest in the other

I was admiring its material

perfect geometrical shapes

the way it was glued somehow

so safely to the wood

then, a bee

flew right in front of my nose

and headed straight under the chair

as she moved, disoriented

she moved my thoughts too

“memory!” I might have said out loud

Not being able to find one’s home

A sentiment I so intimately knew

in that moment

the world of bees and mine

subtly morphed into ours