Bend and Backbone

What balance of bend

and backbone? What measure

resilience moulds malleable’s molecules

such that its structure’s rearranged?

Whites

whipped to a froth with peaks

are perky till two beats too many: then

the mixture droops, begins to weep.

But basket-

weaving 101 needs initially wet

warp and weft to work—a thin

wood slat has

to be pliable;

try it dry, with its hard line unchanged,

and it’ll snap.