Stiff-winged, the swift dropped straight down,

a dark slash against billowing blue

then leveled in a looping glide

to pluck midges from the air

above the lake’s wrinkled face.

On the next pass a glint of indigo

caught his black eye and in a high

chitter he asked

the stiff-winged swift rising straight up,

a dark slash against billowing blue

that levelled in a looping glide

to pluck midges from the mere

under the lake’s wrinkled face,

“How do you fly upside down?”

© Dana Hughes 5.20.14