If Wishes Wore Stripes

If I could be a bumblebee,

I would deftly buzz about

And find a purple thistle bloom

With which to brush my coat

Of softest fuzz; my yellow stripes

Would glint bright beside the black,

And tinted green by pollen dust

That showered on my back,

When deep into the slender throats

Of flowers drenched in dew－

I’d slip, and in these hidden nooks

I’d feed on honeyed brew.

If I could be a bumblebee,

With wings of gossamer,

I would dwell among the blossom tribes－

A nectar connoisseur.

Flitting through the green-gold light

Between the stems and leaves,

I would find a mossy spot to doze

Beneath silk-petaled eaves.

With filmy wings curled round my stripes

I would listen to the breeze

Mingle with the humming

Of my fellow bumblebees.