Barrell-shaped with stubby legs

Their caudal segments are enriched
with a fourth set of these legs
even pudgier than the other six

Only a few enjoy pigment-cup eyes
since most are eye-less

Others are endowed with
bristles along the head and body
for sensation

And the entirety of the body
performs respiration

The round tube-hole
in the middle of their faces
contains a swallowing device
It’s comprised of spines and muscles
for chewing

They chew very quietly
like princesses

Unlike princesses
many are bacteriophagous
insofar as they find bacteria
delicious

Some eat other Tardigrades –
smaller, more tender ones

Fertilization
is usually external
but furtive
and thankfully
unfilmed