Life and Death

First I was an embryo
One big eye and a tail
Somewhat translucent
Blinking my eye and wiggling my tail
Soaking up nourishment
From the uterine floor
Gradually I develop a shape
And a sense of self
I can feel. I can move. I can hear
Sounds, comforting and familiar

Then one day
Disaster strikes
My world begins to quiver
Slowly, then faster and faster
Wave after wave of embryonic fluid
Surges against the walls
Powerful forces propel me
Toward the termination
Of life as I’ve known it
My body is wracked with pain
As I squeeze through
A narrow opening
Into a strange and wondrous new world
Where I dwell
For more than three
Score years and ten
And then it happens again
Disaster strikes….