Wild Honey Bees

High off of the ground I could see them On the old oak tree trunk cavity The wild honey bees they were buzzing Absorbed in their honey making activity. The nectar gathering bees they were busy Making honey whilst the sun shone They did not venture out in wet weather They stayed in till the rain had gone. Perhaps they were apiary escapees Who swarmed off with a younger queen I was a young lad of just seven And they were the first wild bees I had ever seen. Whilst the sun shone all through the Summer From their hive they buzzed to and fro Gathering nectar from the nearby gardens Or the wildflowers by the old hedgerow. From late Fall on they were not seen out Honey bees do not live to be old The worker bees do quickly die off They do not survive in weather wet and cold. It has been more than fifty years I remember Since I first saw wild honey bees Buzzing around their hive in the oak tree cavity In the morning sunshine and breeze.