Half stiff and stuttering,
Half fluid half routed, half splash

Half flailing and laughing “I’m Sorry!”
Half planted, half practicing poise

Half lilty, stilty, pigeon toes,
Half-cocked head and cockatoo crest

All work and all play
All happen at once
Is whimsy halfway
To learning itself
as charm,
Half tripping,
Half dancing
on wire,
Half preening
on a single stilt,
Half snipping
at a stem