For works with similar titles, see The Bee.
THE BEE.
INSCRIBED TO MY SISTER.
Mark how the neat assiduous bee,
Pattern of frugal industry,
Pursues her earnest toil;
All day the pleasing task she plies,
And to her cell at evening hies,
Enrich'd with golden spoil.
She warns us to employ the hours,
In gathering stores from learning's flowers;
For these will ever last:
These mental charms will fill the place
Of every beauty, every grace,
When smiling youth is past.