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Andrea Dorn's avatar

So beautiful and heart-breaking. I'm sorry about your friends but they live in this tiny little bee.

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Suzanna de Baca's avatar

That is a beautiful thing to say, Andrea. Thank you. That is very comforting to me.

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John Schmidt's avatar

I love this poem, but I am puzzled by the title. Why "Mortuary Bee"?

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Suzanna de Baca's avatar

Thank you, John. Worker bees have a variety of roles in the hive depending on their age and the needs of the hive, which are ever-changing. During the period when the worker bee is between 3-16 days, their job may to be a Mortuary Bee. In this job, they remove deceased bees, unhatched eggs or larvae that did not grow. To keep disease out of the colony, Mortuary bees transfer the dead matter away from the hive. They are actually referred to as Mortuary Bees at this stage.

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John Schmidt's avatar

Thank you! I was not familiar with this term.

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Diane Glass's avatar

This one brought tears to my eyes.

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Suzanna de Baca's avatar

Thank you, Diane. I appreciate it. This week a friend passed away almost on the anniversary of another friend's death by suicide, so it seemed the right timing to put it out in the universe.

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Rekha Basu's avatar

Stunning, Suzanna.

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Suzanna de Baca's avatar

Thank you, Rekha!

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