In the Weddell Sea, on the ocean floor
Down in the freezing, sunless sediments
When the aqua blue icebergs calve from shore
Rumble like wrecked heaven in the distance
Carnivorous sponges don’t hear a thing
Blind grubs with hairy antennae ooze on
Nematode worms and seed shrimp don’t scream
Amoebae spit their larvae on the sea lawn
Foraminifera flaunt pretty shells
Clams lounge supine on bacterial mats
This antediluvian society dwells
On methane from mud volcano flats.
Once thought devoid of life, Antarctic sea
Is de rigueur: scuttling claws as destiny!