Updraft
Here’s the science of it.
Flying in V formation helps
birds conserve energy. The updraft
caused by the bird in front reduces wind
resistance to the birds behind them. And
to ensure shared responsibility, each member
of the flock rotates into the lead position. Who
taught them this ingenuity? It seems that they have
not yet read Smith or Hayek, they have not been
influenced by ideas of division and labor. Must
I explain further what this means? Observe
closely the camaraderie sailing across the
sky. A divided flock can only fly so far.
A divided sky cannot contain the air,
nor the birds, not even the light.
This, too, is the poetry of it.
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Moudi Sbeity is a Lebanese-American poet, author, and contemplative counselor. Born in Texas and raised in Lebanon, he moved to the United States at the age of eighteen as an evacuee following the 2006 July war. In Utah, Moudi founded and operated Laziz Kitchen, a Lebanese restaurant celebrated by the New York Times as “the future of queer dining.” Moudi was also a named plaintiff in Kitchen v. Herbert, the landmark case that brought marriage equality to Utah and the 10th circuit states in 2014. He is the author of the memoir Habibi Means Beloved, and the poetry collection Alhamdulillah Anyway. His poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Orison’s Best Spiritual Literature. Moudi’s work focuses on themes of justice and liberation through a spiritual framework of compassion, forgiveness, and awe. As a lifelong stutterer, he is passionate about writing and poetry as practices in fluency and self-expression. moudisbeity.com
