The sons of Eurypter would
Usurp as no one could
The sons of Cephalus
And rule victorious.
Eurypter married fair
Pulmona everywhere
Beloved, and they'd disagree
On what their name would be.
Each had their own design
For their ancestral line:
"Eurypterids" he'd say,
"Arachnopulmonates" her way.
Eurypter and Pulmona
Bore children like none-a
Other: Eurypteron
And Styloner, begun
In rivalry so deep
That none could ever keep
Peace between the two
Who different paths knew.
Eurypteron and his brother
Styloner, like no other
Pair of siblings fought
For all that could be bought
With power and with might
Throughout the day and night.
When their mother died
They could not decide
Who would inherit all
The world at honor's call.
Eurypteron claimed skies
While Styloner's eyes
Were set upon the land
Built by his own hand.
And so Eurypteron flew
Across domains he knew
Were his by right of birth
While Styloner walked earth
And claimed each step he took
According to the book
Of inheritance and law
That neither brother saw
The same way as the other
Despite they shared one mother.
The flight of Eurypteron
Across the sky begun
A dynasty of those
Who ruled where wind blows
High above the earth
From moment of their birth
To death's appointed day
They'd rule in their own way.
Eurypteron begat
Two sons: first he begat
Diploper the strong
And Eurypterus, long
In fertility beyond
What any could respond
To with equal measure—
Their numbers were his treasure.
Eurypterus was most
Fertile of the host
Of Silur's noble sons.
In each generation begun
His house would grow
Ten thousand-fold, and so
His numbers multiplied
Beyond what could be tried
By any other line
In all of space and time.
Myriad-fold they grew
With offspring tried and true.
Diploper begat two:
Waeringos, tried and true,
And Carcinos the strong
Who lived his whole life long.
Waeringos begat then
Two sons beyond all ken:
Humiller, strong and brave,
And Adelops, who'd save
His line through numbers vast
That would forever last.
Adelops was small
But answered duty's call
With many children who
Were resilient and true,
Like bugs beneath the sea
In their tenacity.
Humiller married fair
Pterra, beyond compare
In beauty and in grace,
And in their dwelling place
Together they bore one
Son when day begun:
Slender, fast, and sly,
Who'd rule beneath the sky
And in the depths below.
They named him Slimon, though
His destiny was great
Beyond what they could state.
Slimon bore a son
Whose work, when it was done,
Would show the massive claws
That grew according to laws
Of nature from his mouth.
From north down to the south
His power would be known
When he had grown.
He named this son at first
Clawbert, but then burst
A strike of lightning bright
That filled the world with sight.
And Slimon took the sign
From powers divine
And changed his son's name
To Pterygo's fame.
The sons of Pterygo
Were rulers high and low
Of all Eurypterids.
Fast, strong, their power bids
The world to bow before
Their might from shore to shore.
Regal in their way,
They ruled both night and day.
His youngest son was one
Called Scorpio, begun
As explorer of the new,
With vision clear and true.
Scorpio saw no land
Left for his command,
For all his brothers older
Had claimed, and none bolder
Could challenge their right
To rule with all their might
The territories vast
That they held firmly fast.
And so Scorpio looked
Up from his watery nook
Out of the sea to land
Built by no one's hand
But waiting to be claimed
By one who could be named
The first to make the leap
From waters dark and deep.
Scorpio ventured up
Like warrior with cup
Of courage in his heart
To play the pioneer's part.
His book gills became
Book lungs, and his name
Would live forevermore
From mountain peak to shore.
He claimed all lands of might
Euramerica in sight
For himself and his line
By right of the divine
Who favors those who dare
To venture everywhere
That none have gone before
To open up the door
Of possibility
For all humanity
And every living thing
That answers life's ring.
His sons are known today
As scorpions in their way,
Still carrying the torch
Of those who scorch
New paths through virgin land
Built by their own hand
From nothing into all
That answers courage's call.
Styloner married then
Rhena, and the pen
Of fate would write their names
In evolution's games.
Together they bore two:
Makoko, tried and true,
And Stylonurus strong
Who lived his whole life long.
Makoko begat then
Two sons beyond all ken:
Mycter and Kokomo,
Each destined high to go.
Mycter begat two more:
Flumon to explore
And Drepan, strong and true,
Who different pathways knew.
Flumon found no luck
In seas where he was stuck
With brothers and with cousins
Who by the dozens
Had claimed the seas for their
Own use, and would not share
With him a single place
To call his dwelling space.
So he searched rivers wide
With current as his guide
To find what he could claim
For his ancestral name.
Flumon begat two sons:
Hibbert when day begun
And Mycterops the strong
Who lived his whole life long.
Hibbert was a great
River dweller whose fate
Was to be tough and large,
And he would take charge
Of all the river's course
With wisdom and with force.
Larger, tougher than
Any other man
Of his time, he survived
Tragedies and thrived
Through countless trials
Across thousands of miles.
His people were a race
Resilient in their place,
Powerful and old,
With stories yet untold
Of how they overcame
Whatever brought them shame
Or tried to break their will
Upon the river's sill.
Mycterops was strong
And versatile life long.
His two sons would continue
The work he would begin to
Do: living in the rivers
Where water always shivers
With life and searching for
Food from shore to shore
In most unlikely places
Where none could see their faces
But they would always find
What fed both heart and mind.
Megarachne and his brother
Minirachne, like no other
Pair ruled rivers wide
With power and with pride.
Sons of Mycterops,
They were the tops
Of river royalty
In their dynasty.
But Minirachne was not
Satisfied with his lot
In rivers flowing free—
He wanted more to see.
Scorpio and Minirachne
Were always destined, see,
To fight for the same prize:
The land beneath the skies.
For both had more ambition
Than any opposition
Could contain or tame
In their quest for fame.
Both were men whose dreams
Surpassed all that seems
Possible to those
Who seek repose
In comfort and in ease
But never feel the breeze
Of challenge call their name
To play a greater game.
Minirachne climbed up high
Beneath the open sky
With Tetra, his fair wife,
To start a new life
In the world of land
Built by their own hand,
Where none had gone before
To open up the door.
His book lungs became
Book gills, and his name
Would be remembered long
In evolution's song.
He came to conquer all
The lands where Scorpio's call
Had claimed the territory
For his own story.
And so the stage was set
For a conflict yet
Unseen in all the world
Where banners were unfurled
Between two mighty lines
With their different designs
On what the world should be
For all eternity.
From Eurypter's marriage
To Pulmona's carriage
Of their children into being
Came this foreseeing
Of conflict yet to come
When all would be done
And winners would be crowned
And losers would be found.
The sons of Eurypter
Would rise like Jupiter
Above all other lines
With their grand designs
To rule both sea and land
Built by their own hand
Through courage and through might
That shines like morning light.
From river to the sea,
From sea to land so free,
The eurypterids show
How ambitions grow
From small beginnings made
By those who are not afraid
To venture into spaces
Where none have shown their faces.
But also shows the cost
When some lines are lost
In conflict with their kin
That no one ever wins.
The rivalry between
Brothers who have seen
Different paths to take
For their own sake
And their children's future
Shows how nature's suture
Often cannot hold
When ambitions grow bold
Beyond what can be shared
By those who never cared
To find a peaceful way
To live from day to day.
From Scorpio's bold climb
To Minirachne's time
Of conquest and of war,
The lesson from of lore
Is clear for all to see:
Ambition must be free
But also must be wise
Beneath the starry skies.
The world is big enough
For all who are tough
Enough to make their way
Through each and every day
Of challenge and of strife
In this eternal life
Where all must find their place
In evolution's race.
But when ambition turns
To conflict, and it burns
The bridges that connect
Those who should protect
Each other as they grow
Through all they'll ever know
Of joy and pain and love
Beneath the stars above,
Then all become the losers
In the games that choosers
Play when they forget
That none can ever get
All they want alone
Without the seeds they've sown
Of cooperation true
With me and you.
The eurypterids' rise
Shows us to be wise
In how we use our power
In each and every hour
Of our living days
Along our mortal ways
Where choice determines all
Who answer life's great call.
From Eurypter's flight
To Scorpio's sight
Of lands beyond the sea
Where he could be
The first to make his mark
Upon a world so dark
With possibility
For all humanity,
The lesson clear as day
Shows us the way
To be both brave and wise
Beneath the starry skies
Where all our dreams can grow
If we but choose to sow
The seeds of peace and love
Blessed from above
In every choice we make
For everyone's sake
Who shares this world with us
In ways both glorious
And challenging to see
For you and me
Who must decide each day
Which path we'll take away.
The sons of Eurypter
Like shining Jupiter
Rose high above the rest
And passed each mortal test
Through courage, wisdom, might,
And inner sight
That saw what could be done
Beneath the shining sun
If only they would dare
To venture everywhere
That none had gone before
To open up the door
Of possibility
For all eternity
Where dreams can all come true
For me and you today.