This month Margaret Simon posed our Inklings challenge. She asked us to write a kenning poem, and directed us to the Poetry Foundation’s explanation of kennings: “A figurative compound word that takes the place of an ordinary noun. Many kennings rely on myths or legends to make meaning and are found in Old Germanic, Norse, and English poetry, including The Seafarer, in which the ocean is called a “whale-path.” (See Ezra Pound’s translation). “The Oven Bird” by Robert Frost also includes examples such as “mid-wood” and “petal-fall.””
Here’s what I came up with:
In Praise of the August Bee
As light shifts
and lingering blossoms blaze
in heat-scorched fields,
you, thrumming honey-maker,
continue your work
undaunted.
Oh, blossom-diver,
your advance is marked
by the dip and bend of stalks
and their speckled shadowdance
over thirsty ground.
You, benevolent thief,
collect your autumn-gold
leaving no trace,
merely the echo of your buzz,
and the soft petal-drop
of blossoms in your wake,
along with the promise
of future sweetness.
©Molly Hogan
If you want to see what the other Inklings did with this challenge, click on their links. Catherine won’t be participating this month and Heidi may not be either. You can still enjoy their most recent posts :).
Mary Lee @ A(nother) Year of Reading
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Catherine @ Reading to the Core
I also went down an apian rabbit hole and discovered an ancient Anglo Saxon Bee Charm used to prevent swarming. I was charmed by it and delighted to notice that it used a kenning!
Sitte ge, sīgewīf, sīgað tō eorðan,
næfre ge wilde tō wuda fleogan,
beō ge swā gemindige, mīnes gōdes,
swā bið manna gehwilc, metes and ēðeles.
Settle down, victory-women, sink to earth,
never be wild and fly to the woods.
Be as mindful of my welfare,
as is each man of border and of home.
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Patricia J. Franz at her blog, Reverie. Be sure to stop by and gather up some poetry treasure!
Nix the comfort zone 
ooooooh! victory-women. I love that! And, your romantic poem of kennings…honey-maker, blossom-diver, autumn-gold all need to be paint color names. I want to paint with them as well as you have with the words of your poem. What a fun prompt this month!
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“victory-women” stopped me in my tracks! It’s apparently a reference/comparison to the fierce valkyries. I love the idea of my kennings as paint color names!
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Victory-women has me thinking of Gloria Steinem. Your praise of bees is so spot on. Albert grabbed a bee from a flower and immediately regretted it. They are busy in my butterfly garden.
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Poor Albert! Poor bee! Glad to hear you are seeing lots of pollinators though!
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Blossom-diver! I may not ever see a hummingbird again without repeating Blossom-diver! Blossom-diver! And the bee charm! I love those first words: “Settle down, victory-women…” –mostly so we can all rise up and say “We will NOT!”
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Kennings are a lot of fun to create and then it was a real treat to discover one in that ancient charm!
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Blossom-diver and honey-maker, yes! I have a picture book coming that is all kennings. 🙂 So much fun! xo
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Oh! That’s so exciting! I’ll definitely keep my eyes out for it. I think I suggested kennings to Margaret because you (or maybe Georgia) had mentioned them in your workshop, so they were on my mind. So, thanks for inspiring our challenge!
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This form was MADE for your way of writing! Your poem is all kinds of gorgeous!
This: “you, thrumming honey-maker, / continue your work / undaunted.” Undaunted. Yes.
And this: “You, benevolent thief,”
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Thanks, Mary Lee. I had a lot of fun with this challenge.
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Molly, I felt this bee in my bones! LOVE all of it, especially the “petal-drop” and the poignant “promise of future sweetness.” Your poem transported me! Thank you!
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Thanks, Mona. Bees are truly amazing creatures. I wanted to work in their waggle dance somewhere, but didn’t manage to do so.
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Molly, your August Bee poem is such a timely topic now. I too, have noticed the bees undaunted by the cooler air, shortening light, and still collecting their nectar. So fascinating to see how you wove the kennings in. Great job!
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Thanks, Cathy! Autumn is such an interesting time of year. It’s such a hubbub of activity and impending change!
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Oh, Molly, I love what you’ve written about the bees, as when I search for them, I look for ” the dip and bend of stalks” – a clue! And your find of “victory-women” – interesting idea from the man! Happy weekend!
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Love this, Molly! blossom-diver, autumn-gold, petal-drop – all so full of images. Thank you!
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