Specimens

Lomankus, paleo swimmer,

Loosens its diaphanous sleeve,

Inspects seabed through waters dim;

Jutted with protrusions like eaves.

Paleontologists extract

Gold-bug fossil worthy of thieves.

Pyritized arthropod's intact;

Jutted with protrusions like eaves.

Children crouch on all fours, espy

Pill bugs foraging past leaves

To shale rock; the underside

Jutted with protrusions like eaves.

I cup roly-poly in fist,

Ready bug's nook with weedy sheaves,

Pink petal carpet, tree bark twists,

Jutted with protrusions  like eaves.

Laura Stickney 2024

Notes:

Lomankus edgecombei-- A new arthropod 

species discovered preserved in fool's gold

in state of New York.

pyritized-- Converted into iron pyrite or

fool's gold.

Pill bugs-- Also known as roly-polies, are

terrestrial crustaceans that roll into a

tiny ball when disturbed.

photos-- top, life reconstruction of

Lomankus edgecombei, Xiaodong Wang.

Bottom, Lomankus edgecombei, fossil

preserved in iron pyrite, Luke Parry.