Ballooning

By Emily, age 10

 

The spiderling pokes out a leg, circling it in the air

Its body slowly emerges from the splintering carcass of an egg

The tip of the grass blade trembles as the new Linyphiidae scurries upward

Tentatively, it stretches its two front limbs, testing the air current

The tiny abdomen rises in unison with a mass of others, its glands sloshing with liquid silk

Swaying, slender strands shoot from its spinneret, pearly threads bouncing on the rain-heavy breeze

Launching onto its spouting silver trail, the spiderling clings tightly

The silk slices through the atmosphere, ballooning its passenger as if on a trapeze

Grass, earth, and glimmering water whizz past in a blur of bewildering colour

Floating towards a dew-drenched flower, the wind brushing past, the spiderling drifts onto a soaked petal

With insects crawling in nectar and the stalk casting shade, it is the perfect home for a Linyphiidae.

 

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