Flying kaleidoscope

Vaishnavi Sridhar

Fluttering festival,  
spectacular display,  
biology, chemistry, physics at play. 

Curious mind, zoom all the way in.  
Look through the lens,   
to see what’s within.     

Delicate membranes, powdery scales, 
ordered arrangements,  
all in the wing. 

Chitinous sculptures, 
fluid pigments,  
put together, riot of colors.  

Warn, fool,
hide, impress,   
stay warm, stay cool.

The Science

Right from her childhood, the poet has been fascinated by nature and its diversity. Working in an environment surrounded by butterflies, the poet was prompted to read more about their coloration. In this poem, she talks about the different ways in which coloration arises in butterfly wings, and touches upon why wing coloration might be required in butterflies.

The Poet

Vaishnavi Sridhar (she/her) completed a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. She studied proteins required for parts of a cell to contact each other and the relevance of these contacts for cellular function and disease. She currently works as Manager, Academic Collaborations and Events at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, India. She enjoys origami, reading and writing science articles, poems, and cooking.

Next poem: Fusion by Judith Taylor