In the gravy boat near the pond edge
Caecilians swim through the mud like eels ;
Otherwise, they toothpick through sponge–cake
Soil with their crusty–heel jaws like hammers .

The umami swamp air mushroomy,
The frogs croak on green lily-pad plates,
Their meringue eggs frothy at the rims ;
Tadpole dumplings simmer in the soup .

The perfumed world waits to be feasted
By Anura with geschmackssheibe for
Screening savory comestibles
From bitter injurious tidbits or
Sour :   fermented, acidic, rotten .

Efts emerge from gelatin dessert
As smoky salamanders sizzle,
Dunking in psychotropic brandy .

The amphibian predators with
Fungiform papillae from the time
Of mosses, ferns, horsetails, and calamites,
When the tetrapodomorphic fish
Thrust onto the Devonian shore,
Thrash and vault toward a smörgåsbord .

*[ WSB ]_.