Whimsy and delight wrapped neatly into a ball
Segmented body perfectly shaped
for
playing
games
Armored, but fragile
Wrapped up tight
Nothing can make it in but
Something bigger will crush
Your fourteen legs working hard
Carrying you slowly around the underside of a leaf
Picked up
Picked off
Thrown carelessly by a child
Roly poly's, pill bugs, woodlice - whatever you call these, they are crustaceans, not insects. I think we English speakers very much missed the mark by failing to call them ball-crabs.
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