Under the lemon trees
by Amelia Terese Francis, Harkaway Hills College
Years 5 – 6 Ekphrastic Poetry Finalist
‘Under the Lemon Trees’ by Claude Monet (1884)
Under the lemon trees I sat, I and me
When suddenly on a lemon I saw a happy fluttering bee
She flew around the trees and landed in my hand
Then she left my hand for the shimmering golden sand
Under the lemon trees I sat, I and me
When yet again on a lemon I saw another little bee
This bee was quieter and droopy and sad
When suddenly I realised that her wing looked very bad
I climbed up the lemon tree to help the little thing
When the idea came into my mind: ring ring ring!
I Grabbed the soft white flowers that grew on the tree
And made a mini bed for the tiny injured bee
As I breathed in the tangy smell
I grabbed my needle and my thread
And far away rang the church bells
And soon I patted the happy bee’s head
For now, the bee was better
And on her once injured wing
Woven was a beautiful lemon
A very lucky kind of thing
Under the lemon trees I sat, not I and me
For now, I had lemon trees for company
And I can’t forget the voices of my very busy friends
For the buzzing every day never really ends