No one knows the name of these men,

but they lie sleeping in the water.

These swimmers are often seen

lying in the mud looking for fringed hind legs

or casting their electric eggs

on the surface of great shadows in the air.

They stride about the surface of their lives

or swim through at the bottom to avoid

its most painful, familiar stings.

Many of them eat algae and scum

to spend the time.

These water boatmen, back swimmers

have a mate to plant their oars within

which can cause them to serve eggs

for short periods.

Then the wise bugs move through their home s

and fly to a new pool in which to live

because of their peculiar habit of leaving

their complete, spiderlike life histories on film.