EARTHWORMS
Earthworm, you burrower extraordinaire
How can you stand to live down there
With your one cylindrical digestive tract
You move with the muscles that you contact
To make your body first short then long
And those bristles help propel you along
Through leaf litter, topsoil or deeper down
You help to mix up the stuff in the ground
This makes you the base of many a food chain
Yet your many skills are the environment’s gain
Your talent with organic matter is biological
And mixing tall the nutrients is a flair so chemical
Then there’s your physical ability of aerating
So the soil ecosystem’s restoration you’re helping
Thus let’s take some time to show a bit of gratitude
For how you improve the quality of our food!
“Worms both disgust and fascinate me! I remember my brother holding a worm in his hands as a toddler and exclaiming; ‘One worm two worms!’ as he pulled it part😱. After that I had nightmares about worms for years until one of my pupils brought a worm farm into the class and taught us all about he important work of the humble earthworm… a teacher can always learn from their students!
Very informative poem! Amazing creatures; more dynamic than most understand.
Thanks Elizabeth – I shared it on Twitter 🙂