—after Stephen Budiansky
Birds, fish, whales teach
our featherless finless
fingers arms and feet:
tapering to a thin,
sweptback tip,
a crescent assists
its bearer to fly or swim
long distances at high
speeds, gives the most lift
with the least drag.
The engineer claims
swim and flight are
the same. Air’s like
water, just lighter.
*Budiansky’s eponymous short essay about flight aerodynamics appeared in U.S. News & World Report, June 1, 1987
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 27, Issue 4.
Farm girl, rock climber, and professor, Karen Kilcup feels fortunate to be getting old. Her book The Art of Restoration received the 2021 Winter Goose Poetry Prize, and Red Appetite received the 2022 Helen Kay Poetry Chapbook Prize. A Pushcart Prize nominee, she has a forthcoming collection, Feathers and Wedges.
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