The animal I made you

by Letitia Trent

has a long tail with no
known function.  It shoulders
a swollen egg-laying apparatus.
It springs, landing on its
hard, burrowing claws.

It has transparent, almost veinless wings,
useless, as to be expected.  It sees you
with its two protuberant eyes and tries
to create a basket-like trap with its legs
over and over until exhausted.  I failed it
by cutting corners, neglecting

the wasp-waist, the armor plates,
and that noisy, yet effective,
closed circulatory system.