in april, how many

by M. Christine Benner Dixon

in the center of the daffodil
april tunnels in              deep
through hollow stem
and the round cavern of the bulb
and the trailing white roots
and opens on the underworld

how many tiny bees
have gotten that far
and starved by the journey
eaten shadow pollen
never to return
through her bright horn

M. Christine Benner Dixon lives, writes, and grows things in Pittsburgh, PA. Working in both prose and poetry, her writing has appeared in SLICE Magazine, Fearsome Critters: A Millennial Arts Journal, Vastarien: A Literary Journal, HeartWood Literary Magazine, pacificREVIEW: A West Coast Arts Review Annual, Paperbark Literary Magazine, and Tiny Seed Literary Journal.

City of Asylum believes that All Pittsburghers are Poets. With the Poem of the Week series, we seek to increase the readership and appreciation of poetry locally by publishing poems written by residents of Allegheny County of all ages and levels of experience. In partnership with the Poetry Editors at Sampsonia Way Magazine, City of Asylum advances our mission to defend, celebrate, and build on creative freedom of expression. This project received a RADical ImPAct Grant from RAD (Allegheny Regional Asset District).