I would like to tell you the story of Ambystoma mexicanum
but be advised, to do so, i have to break poetic canon!
The salamander that I’m talking about
– with gills next to necks and a very cute snout –
is always in water, therefore quite clean.
His names axolotl, you know who I mean.

In our eyes they are amazing creations,
because they don’t mind limb amputations.
We cut off their finger, their gills and their tails,
we irradiate their brain, if all else fails.

“In the name of science!” we prouldy proclaim –
regeneration in humans, that is our aim!
Yet not everything is nice and dandy,
for sometimes they do drugs, like little kids candy.
Benzocaine is their poisons name,
and they really play a dangerous game.

They drink it, they breath it, they eat it, they love it,
and they all do it with our watchful eyes above it!
Because as soon as they are out, we go berserk,
and let scalpel and scissor and needle to work.

These actions might come off as wrong,
but I assure you, our love for these animals is burning strong!
When we are done with our experiments,
and have recorded all the fluorescence,
– there’s no need for excessive alarm –
we simply send them off to a countryside farm!

Now, this poems rhymes were terrible, and its structure lacking
that’s because instead of writing, the author was slacking.
But despite it being such artistic transgression,
I still hope you enjoyed this axolotl-love-confession.

-Klaus Ehrlinger