Blessings of the Willows
(Niedziela Wierzbowa)

At anthesis, willows bless the bees,
ending the famine they’ve endured
for how many bee-years.
The hordes of sawflies would not survive
but for their green flags unfurled from tiny buds,
offerings begun in this time of soft emergence.
Some will ask the priests
to bless their budding branches,
but isn’t it really the other way around?