They sometimes study topics that the simple mind confound,
Of Nature's way, the “whats,” the wheres” and the “whys”
In creatures that crawl and that swim and that fly.
Of Clamson U, Dr. Porter, for better or for worse
Selected for his studies the way of the sea horse.
The male of this species gives birth to a brood
Of little sea horses (“sea colts”? It sure seems to sound good...)
But his research has centered on the creature's factor rare:
The cross -section of its tail is not round, but it is square!
And to the scientist this feature seemed quite out of line,
And he wondered why Nature favored this design..
The reason, it turned out, was soon clear to behold:
The fish's tail's prehensile, designed to take a hold,
And a square tail the strong forces can better resist,
As in the ocean, the sea horse, giving birth, turns and twists!
But there are other creatures with prehensile tails,
But maybe not another that a square cross-section entails.
His evolutionary tail being exceedingly slim,
The sea-horse does not care, as in the sea he swims...