Love Sonnet for Idgie Threadgoode

The mason bees are buzzing. It’s a summer
afternoon. Their nest is hidden inside
the earth. I lie belly to brown barrenness.
No water falls from the sky, just these vibrating
buried bodies beneath the tall magnolia. I am
alone. Husband and sons vanished to somewhere not
here, bees a cacophony muffled below
my body. I am sleepy as the sun burns
my naked back, the single string of a bathing
suit top stops nothing. I blatantly signal for stings,
daring because I still dream of the blond bee
queen from Fried Green Tomatoes, still envision
frozen ponds and flying ducks in the middle of a scorching day.
These bees have no honey to offer. I love them anyway.


Heather Truett (Twitter: @mmerubies) is an MFA candidate, a slightly heretical pastor’s wife, and an autistic author. Her debut novel, KISS AND REPEAT released from Macmillan in 2021, and she teaches fiction at Interlochen Arts Camp. She has work featured or upcoming in Constellations, Hunger Mountain, and Thimble. Heather is represented by Hilary Harwell at KT Literary and serves as Managing Editor for The Pinch. Heather’s favorite sweet right now is Moomer’s ice cream (no bake peanut butter).

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