Where liquid water meets the air
it has a surface tension.
An outer layer of molecules
that all have strong attraction.
Water droplets round in shape
like beads will often form,
hanging on a cobweb’s threads
like jewels in the dawn.
And on a pond small insects simply
walk along its top.
Their tiny feet don’t break that layer.
Along the top they hop.
A raindrop on a window-pane
will slide towards the ground
as water is a fluid that
can easily move round.
It leaves behind a trailing tail
as it goes trickling past
because that surface tension makes
it stick upon the glass.
I like to pick out two big drops
and guess their moving pace
to see which one will trickle first
and win the window race.
![](https://australianchildrenspoetry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/water-droplets-by-amy-sheehan.jpg?w=885)
Poem from The Science Rhymes Book. Illustration by Amy Sheehan