While sons of Proteus divided fast
And their kingdoms grew vast,
The sons of Dutrus moved slow
And let their wisdom grow.
Two twin sons were born
In the early morn:
Saccorhytus the lame
And Dietrich of fame.
Poor Saccorhytus never grew
Into something new.
As larva he remained
And was never gained.
His sons were sparse and weak,
With little they could seek.
Their father's childish way
Led them all astray.
But Dietrich was different,
Though at first resistant.
In youth he looked the same
As his brother's frame.
But as the years passed by
He reached toward the sky.
Maturity he found
And wisdom did resound.
Gill slits he built with care
To filter everywhere
The ground beneath his feet
For food that he could eat.
A great tail he made
That would never fade,
Extending past his rear
To swim both far and near.
A heart he built within
To let the blood begin
Its journey through his frame
To nourish in his name.
Two great nerve cords he laid,
One dorsal, one ventral made,
To coordinate his might
Both day and night.
Until he grew both great and strong,
His body large and long.
The anatomy he made
Would never ever fade.
The sons of Dietrich spread
Wherever they were led
Across the world so wide
With fortune as their guide.
Great fortune blessed their way
Throughout each passing day.
This time was called by all
The Fortunian's call.
First born were the twins
Where the story begins:
Bold Ambulus the free
And Chordatus of the sea.
These brothers both worked well
With all they had to tell.
With sons of Proteus
They ruled victorious.
They vassalized the land
Of Ediacar's grand
Empire that had been
Since time was first seen.
Now Ambulus settled down
Upon a rocky crown.
He built his simple home
Where he could freely roam.
But Chordatus chose the way
Of order's display.
He centralized his rule
Like a wise school.
One spinal cord he made
Along his back, arrayed
To coordinate his will
With consummate skill.
But Chordatus needed more
Support than heretofore.
A notochord he built
Without any guilt.
And so was born that day
The spinal cord's array.
Chordatus became the sire
Of all whom we admire:
The chordates and the spine
That makes our form divine.
From his great innovation
Came our very creation.
From his spinal cord so true
Our brainstem also grew.
The foundation he laid down
Became our neural crown.
But Ambulus' sons chose
A different path than those
Who followed central rule—
They kept the older school.
Local leaders they obeyed,
And to shamans they prayed.
No great lords they needed,
Their freedom they heeded.
The sons of Ambulus became
The acorn worms of fame,
And echinoderms so bright
With stars shining light.
The sons of Dutrus saw
The end of ancient law.
Ediacaran Empire fell
As they could tell.
And so truly began
The Cambrian plan.
A new age had dawned
As the old world was spawned.
Bluebelle the Sea Squirt
In waters did assert
Her right to filter feed
And fulfill her need.
Snowfloof the Vertebrate
With spine both strong and straight
Swam through the ocean blue
With backbone tried and true.
Starfy the Echinoderm
Kept to the ancient form
Of radial symmetry
For all eternity.
Among the sons of Nephrus
The sons of Dutrus
Were the late bloomers true
But their art they knew.
They took their time to learn
And perfect each turn.
But once they found their way
Nothing could make them stray.
From sons of Chordatus came
Vertebrates of fame
And Sea Squirts who filter
Without any filter.
From sons of Ambulus rose
Echinoderms in rows:
The Starfish and Urchins
In their ocean churches.
In the last days they cried
"Ediacaro must die!"
And left behind their mark
Both light and dark.
Treptichnal burrows deep
Where their memories sleep,
And oxygenized soil
From their endless toil.
A son of Ectus made
His burrow in the shade,
A twisting, turning home
Through earth and sandy loam.
And so Ediacaro fell
As time would tell.
The mats of Saya old
And Desulfa's hold
Were destroyed at last
When the new age passed
Over the ancient ways
Of pre-Cambrian days.
The Fortunian time had come
When all would succumb
To the new order's might
Both day and night.
From Dietrich's patient art
Came each chordate part.
The backbone and the brain
Would always remain.
His legacy lives on
From dusk until dawn
In every spine that's straight
And every vertebrate.
The twins who chose their way—
Ambulus and Chordatus' day—
Show us how to grow:
Some fast, some slow.
But both paths have their place
In evolution's race.
Whether central or free,
Both have their destiny.
So honor brave Dietrich
Who made us all so rich
With spine and cord and heart
That gave us our start.
The Fortunian's gift
Gave evolution's shift
From simple to complex
Through all its effects.
In every breath we take,
In every move we make,
Dietrich's innovation
Guides our creation.