Dipping honey

Dipping honey


I wished you were there, Gare,
when wild boar ran across our path.
Foix and I marveled
at the hunting lodge, and fences
higher than a deer could jump.

I wish you could've touched
those open fields lined by oaks
that bronzed in the open air,
while open hearts made us
pizza pockets and corn dogs.

I wish you would've heard
the suck of the pump as human
muck swirled in the basin
and up the hose, the one ton truck
running, patiently waiting.

I wish you could've smelled ...
fall's decay ... the horses ... the hay ...
the raw earth of deconstruction,
the soft mist of deodorant
sprayed in a hidden corner, just so.

At the end of sunset,
back at the shop, fourteen serviced,
and a day off to fix the Chevy,
I thought of all the times
we haven't spent together, Gare,

and I wished you were there,
driving the truck, dipping honey.


© Kåre Enga

27 oktober 2003.

Based on actual experiences.

Two reviewers wanted to know what 'honey-dipping' meant:

Honey dippers would go around cleaning out outhouses (they tend to fill up). A honey wagon would store the waste for transport. A honey pot would have manure for the garden. Probably an old euphemism, but the phrase honey-dipping is still used in rural areas. Port-a-potties, commonly used for construction sites and events, are modern outhouses.