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When I thought that I might begin to consider to be a poet, when I fifteen and sixteen, I started as a song writer, in 1975, and the form of music that attracted me  – very much so – was, and is, the blues. And so, this is a poem, but it’s also a song, and it’s titled ‘King Bee Blues’.

I’m an ol’ king bee, honey,
Buzzin’ from flower to flower.
I’m an ol’ king bee, sweets,
Hummin’ from flower to flower.
Women got good pollen; I get some every hour.

There’s Lily in the valley
And sweet honeysuckle Rose too;
There’s Lily in the valley
And sweet honeysuckle Rose too.
And there’s pretty black-eyed Susan,
Perfect as the night is blue.

You don’t have to trust
A single, black word I say.
You don’t have to trust
A single, black word I say.
But don’t be surprised
If I sting your flower today.