quote · Legacy record
The bee that sips her sweets from flowers fair, Flying on careless wing now here, now there, With azure skies above, green sward below, And soft south wind to bear her to and fro, Might seem the soul of self-devoted ease, Her life a draught of nectar without lees. Not so! Her prime is full of strenuous deed That shames our own in generous meed Of work for other's good. Long summer days She builds her golden house, with guerdons stays Her Queen, uprears her young, and stores her food— Then sudden shuns her wealth, her home, her brood, And seeks new haven on an unknown sea, Leaving her life-work to posterity.
The bee that sips her sweets from flowers fair, Flying on careless wing now here, now there, With azure skies above, green sward below, And soft south wind to bear her to and fro, Might seem the soul of self-devoted ease, Her life a draught of nectar without lees. Not so! Her prime is full of strenuous deed That shames our own in generous meed Of work for other's good. Long summer days She builds her golden house, with guerdons stays Her Queen, uprears her young, and stores her food— Then sudden shuns her wealth, her home, her brood, And seeks new haven on an unknown sea, Leaving her life-work to posterity.
In print by 1911 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Henry Hoyt Moore
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1911 AD · modern
In print by 1911: recorded in The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 272; printed byline: Henry Hoyt Moore; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.