Aristocrats of air, your landings
smack of novice water skiers –
a gawky yaw, a tardy whoosh –
before that barge-like glide of royalty.
Water may be your alter métier,
but the rough transition here
puts hollow bones at risk.
We cringe, watching until
safe to view your placid ride –
cloud white to blue – on wings like
paddle wheels that lift a dabbler
high again and out of sight.
—
Irene Adler was a poet and English teacher in Palo Alto, California, where she was also a co-owner of the company that invented the Aerobie flying ring and the Aeropress coffee maker. By the time of her death in October 2023, she had written over 2,000 poems spanning 25 years. These were collated and curated for a posthumous collection, Bone Flute, which will be published in Spring 2025 by Paloma Press.
