"The Bee Carol" by Carol Ann Duffy

Silently on Christmas Eve,

the turn of midnight’s key;

all the garden locked in ice —

a silver frieze —

except the winter cluster of the bees.

Flightless now and shivering,

around their Queen they cling;

every bee a gift of heat;

she will not freeze 

within the winter cluster of the bees. 

Bring me for my Christmas gift

a single golden jar;

let me taste the sweetness there,

but honey leave 

to feed the winter cluster of the bees. 

Come with me on Christmas Eve

to see the silent hive —

trembling stars cloistered above —

and then believe, 

bless the winter cluster of the bees. 

"The Bee Carol" by Carol Ann Duffy from The Bees. © Faber & Faber, Inc., 2011.