He arranges, stacks
            the rocks         just so

angled             by angle
not quite a cairn

but the same
a spiritual practice

a place             for the bees
to land                         in the birdbath

A moist bee can easily drown
            it cannot breathe when
its body is drenched,

and discerning shallow water as water
is difficult.

If the bee can pull itself out of the wet
            and onto the rock,

it can groom itself dry            and fly away

Terri McCord is a visual artist as well as poet and writer. Her latest published collection is The Beauts from Finishing Line Press. Her works have been nominated for four Pushcarts and a Best of the Net. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Queens University in Charlotte.