You taught me that bees make a kind of resin —
propolis, a glue to repair their hive,
from the buds of poplar
and cone-bearing trees, they recreate
their home.
You taught me
how propolis can heal.
How the word comes from
“before” and “city”.
As though a hive is a city,
as though we can make our world anew,
create our own medicine
from gathering
what we have around us.
—
Deborah Leipziger is an author, poet, and advisor on sustainability. Born in Brazil, Deborah’s poems have been published in ten countries in such magazines as Salamander, Revista Cardenal, and Inkwell. Her poetry collection, Story & Bone, was published by Lily Poetry Review Books. She is the author of several books on human rights and sustainability. Deborah is working on a Lexicon of Change, which shares the vocabulary we need for social and environmental transformation.
