a butterfly hangs
upside down,
but it seems upside down
is as meaningless an
an abstraction for it
as the two million km/h
that a human sweeps,
spins, expands, etc.
through space
is for the person who
feels only the couch
against his backside.
what must it be to not know
upside down -- to feel free
to fall, knowing the air
will catch one?
There was an equanimous beekeeper --
so calm he looked like an upright sleeper.
Slow & quiet on task
'til one got in his mask,
and blinded him with stings to each peeper.
prickly pears bloom:
yellow offering bowls —
bees give & take.
The dragonfly strafing lilies
doesn't know how very silly
a bantam taller than a ram
seems to a ram tall as a filly.
highway parts landscape;
butterflies jink and loiter
as cars speed through.
butterflies dance
beside a cold creek,
near sun-warmed leaves.
A Beetle that was built like a tank
Crawled over a blazing riverbank
Now as any sane one would think
It should head straight for the drink
To cool off its little ole toes.
But as astute readers will know,
It hasn't really got any toes,
So, it can walk hot sands real slow.
fly in Summer,
buzzes around a cow --
dodging whip-tail.
Does the bug
atop a wildflower
think itself master
of all it surveys?
Tiger Riding for Beginners 