Lucy Out On a Limb

How she walked, how
the ground felt firm beneath
her feet, so tired of swinging,
she searched for home,
hips swaying on the trails.
She had bone, she had heart,
she was The Mother.

Her curved fingers gripped
arboreal limbs, years
of serious training made her
capable of flipping, she was
grounded, a gymnast, her
legs running every distance
with a mighty rumble,

yet she hesitated, took her rest
in trees, and died, falling.


[Limb Bone Structural Proportions and Locomotor Behavior in A.L. 288-1 ("Lucy")]