Poetry

My Ode to Mesoderm
Meatless diploblastic organisms are indeed “meatless”, and it wasn’t until the evolution of mesoderm, that wonderful germ layer that allowed for the invention of mesenchymal tissues, such as muscle and skeletal elements and connective tissue, that eating for a carnivore became interesting. The fact that ectoderm and endoderm can give rise only to epithelial tissue is a point that I never cease to marvel at. I sing the praises of mesoderm, and just want to make sure it gets its just recognition. So: My Ode to Mesoderm (it doesn’t scan well unless you cheat and say some of the words really fast). (Submitted by MTyler, Univ. Maine).

A Carnivore’s Ode to Mesoderm

How I shun the meatless jellyfish,
The hydra, its layers of two,
Just ectoderm and endoderm, how functional,
But hardly a morsel to chew.
Give me triploblasts with their layer of mesoderm,
That invention so glorious! So new!
It gave depth and strength to all organs
And meat and bone for my stew.