She begins her life
along with nine-thousand seven hundred fourteen siblings
in the shallowest part of the pond, 
just four days after being laid as a jelly egg 
attached to a fern leaf bent over humid water. 

On day seven she sallies to neighboring weeds 
using a very circular route 
quietly clings to a weed, watches with terror 
as brothers and sisters are attacked 
by sharp-beaked birds 
swooping down to chew helpless tadpoles, 
devouring membranes that cover their gills and necks.  

One of few tadpoles to survive to day ten,
officially becomes a tiny pitch-black pollywog 
with continuously wiggling tail and small round mouth 
of horny jaws that scrape across tiny plants, 
searching for something to eat. 

She greedily swallows microscopic animals 
found inside pond bottom ooze 
and slime which clings to pond’s surface. 

Devouring a particularly tasty ooze meal, 
she is horrified to witness 
tadpole brothers and sisters  eating each other, 
siblings extending their bellies
by swallowing extended family.
             
Mostly tail with fine stippling of gold, 
within  twenty-four hours she breathes 
from two gills at each side of her throat 
as hind legs suddenly sprout 
rounded buds that soon turn into toes  
amazing her how fast she can propel  
away from murderous dive-bombing birds of color.

She first demonstrates courage  
by a successful attack of a black fish that menaces her for hours.,
sucking on its fish fins until they are ragged,
not in anger or self-defense  
more for tasty algae trapped within them. 

But it does feel good to be able to destroy instead of being destroyed.