honey fills the jar
with the concentrated sweetness
of countless thefts,
the blossoms bereft, the hive destitute.
Though my debts are heavy
honey would pay them all.
Honey heals, honey mends.
A spoon takes more than it can hold
without reproach. A knife plunges deep,
but does no injury.
Honey moves with intense deliberation.
Between one drop and the next
forty lean years pass in a distant desert.
What one generation labored for
another receives,
and yet another gives thanks.
[Connie Wanek, 'Honey' in On Speaking Terms]
I read an interesting article once wherein ancient doctors would impregnate bandages with honey. This worked, because the sugars in the honey bound up the free water in the wound, making it impossible for bacteria to sustain itself.
ReplyDeleteHoney's actually supposed to be very good 'home medicine' for quite a few things. Along with leaches and gunpowder.
ReplyDeleteAnd whiskey. LOTS and lots of whisky. [pick yer favorite spelling]