# Beehive explained — Cane

> Chapter companion for Cane by Jean Toomer.

## What happens

The poem presents a metaphorical beehive as a black, moonlit swarm of silver bees, with Earth as a waxen cell and the speaker as a drone lying on his back, drunk on honey, yearning to escape past the moon and curl forever in a distant farmyard flower.

## Themes in this chapter

### Alienation and Search for Belonging

The speaker, as a drone lying on his back, feels disconnected from the buzzing hive and longs to escape to a far-off flower, expressing a deep sense of alienation and a desire for a simpler, more peaceful belonging.

### Southern Landscape and Pastoralism

The imagery of a farmyard flower and the moonlit hive evokes a pastoral, Southern landscape, blending natural elements with a dreamlike, intoxicated escape.

## Key lines

> Within this black hive to-night There swarm a million bees; Bees passing in and out the moon, Bees escaping out the moon, Bees returning through the moon, Silver bees intently buzzing, Silver honey dripping from the swarm of bees

Tonight, inside this dark hive, countless bees are swarming, moving in and out of the moonlight, buzzing with purpose, and silver honey drips from the swarm.

_The opening lines establish the central metaphor of the hive as a bustling, moonlit community, with bees as active participants in a cyclical, almost cosmic dance._

> Earth is a waxen cell of the world comb, And I, a drone, Lying on my back, Lipping honey, Getting drunk with silver honey, Wish that I might fly out past the moon And curl forever in some far-off farmyard flower.

The Earth is like a single wax cell in the honeycomb of the universe, and I am a drone, lying on my back, tasting honey, becoming intoxicated by it, and longing to fly beyond the moon and settle forever in a distant farmyard flower.

_The speaker identifies as a passive drone, contrasting with the active bees, and expresses a desire for escape and eternal rest in a pastoral setting, highlighting themes of alienation and longing._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-beehive
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cane_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cane_se/chapters