A is for Annelid, squirmy and tubate.
B is for Bloodybelly Comb Jelly Lobate.
C is for Cuttlefish pulsing with pixels.
D is for Durian brushing its bristles
with odorous toothpaste, and E is for Eels.
F is for Flatworms digesting their meals
in sacks, tubes, and branches, since G is for gut.
H is for Hairy-Nosed Wombat whose butt
is for crushing its enemies. I’s for Ichneumon
(the wasp, not the mongoose) who’s known for consuming
its prey from the inside. And J is for jaw worm:
minute interstitial worm, ready-to-gnaw worm.
K is king cobra. A Lamprey is L.
M is a mean Myxozoan from hell.
N is the Nudibranch, ruffled and graceful.
O is the Osmylid, patterned and laceful.
P is the prickly Ping-Pong Tree Sponge.
Q is for Quoll, who will scavenge or lunge
at live Rats (for the Rs) and live Snakes (for the Ss).
T is for Tunicate Pyura chilensis,
the stone that gives blood. U is Urchin or Uni.
V is for Velvet Worm, undulant, puny,
abundantly slimy. The Wobbygong, W,
hates being teased, and if stepped on, will nibble you.
X is for Xeno Crab, nubbly with pocks on.
Y is for Yew tree, who murders with toxin.
Z is for zebra shark, bitey and bitter. It
won’t read this alphabet, since it’s illiterate.
R.A. Briggs teaches philosophy at Stanford, has a great dog, and writes poetry for fun. They are the author of Free Logic (University of Queensland Press, 2013) and Common Sexual Fantasies, Ruined (Cordite Press, 2015).