WE ARE BRANCHES

The creators of Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature (2011) salute another of the world’s essential and ubiquitous patterns.

“Branching is nature’s most efficient way to spread something…from one central spot over a large area,” Sidman writes at the end—going on in prose to unpack examples her preceding free verse just touches on and to introduce the concept of fractals. By that point she has taken readers through the natural world, beginning with tree branches, “lifting toward the sun, / spreading wide / to catch each / drop of light,” and proceeding to roots, the wings of birds and butterflies, lightning, coral, snowflakes, and, finally, closer to home, arms, legs, and blood vessels: “Then we pour back in rivers / toward your heart.” Flowing with similar strength and lyricism, Krommes’ color scratchboard scenes offer minutely examined bat wings and flowers along with glimpses of a trio of playful tan-skinned children in support of the poet’s rapturous conclusion that branching is “the shape of life!” They also reflect a broader truth with scenes of forked rivers and lightning, fronds of frost, a flat expanse of cracked mud, and deeply furrowed mountain slopes. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Explores a fundamental concept with characteristic grace and simplicity.