I was an embryo in an egg,
placed in an incubator with twenty others.
I began to grow inside, alongside them—
but I had no egg tooth.
On the twenty-first day, the others
broke their shells and came out.
I could not crack mine,
and lay waiting to be discarded.
The woman tending the incubator broke my shell.
I emerged alive, despite lacking
the egg tooth—human kindness!
They fed us, gave us antibiotics, and we grew.
I thanked the humans for their benevolence.
I grew into a great rooster, heavy with flesh.
They said I was full of protein, tasted good.
One day, I was served upon a table.
