Bee and Iris

Several stalks of lavender iris stand in the morning sun,
some buds tightly closed, others in full bloom with standards and falls open.
Below empty brown paper spathes, hold sprinkles of morning rain.
First attempt
Bee flies past petals
down to rain filled, dried spathe.
Slips in
after several seconds emerges.
Second attempt
Bee crawls up iris stem.
Enters at the base of the bloom, a gap
between partially untwisted petals and sepals.
Emerges.
Third attempt
Bee flies to open blue violet iris,
past tightly closed spathes beneath.
Lands on open fall, sepal, and crawls along white and yellow beard
disappearing down into the iris and wallows.
Pollen and success.