Acrobatic Zest

                 Acrobatic Zest

In zest that never fails, though pause it must,

The flittering and flapping in between

The hedges, shrubs, and roses, swoop adjust

Themselves in sunlight, changing to a keen

Ballet or modern dance, or more trapeze

Performance never touching down to ground.

The danseurs swing to platforms, grace and ease

Their essence.  Swift assurance all around

Is their presumption as they graze the wind

That helps them, lifting them like water swirls

A fish through life.  It is as if God grinned

While making birds that fly in garden curls.

  They settle near a feeder, peck, and glance

    Askance around because hawks take their chance.

Phillip Whidden