Butterflies fly willy-nilly,
but if you were to try to catch one,
you may fall on your face, while they
will go farther than you thought.
Theirs is an ancient form of grace.

Spider babies mostly, but adults,
too, will climb high to a very windy ledge,
stand tall on their pointy little legs,
put their “abdomens” (so to speak) in the air,
and release a thin strand of webbing —
a bungee cord of sorts — and
viola, they are airborne, sometimes
soaring hundreds of miles.
Warning: Do not do this at home.

An unexpectedly Olympian
shorebird called the red knot
flies more than 18,600 miles round trip
every year. From southernmost South American
after gorging themselves ploppy, they fly
all the way up to the Artic Circle
to make babies, and then fly back again.
Mortality is high.
But not as high as the spider’s.