hands down

When cuttlefish can out-perform your pet
in problem-solving, and in self-control
Some want to question which of them gets et
and which enjoys the snug domestic role.
Domestication only fits the few
who understand a social hierarchy
The rest, we're prone to stir fry, bake, or stew;
We're picky in our hospitality.
This season, chordates seem to dominate
'though dinosaurs succumbed, we muddled on
But roll those dice again, a different fate
This time, a mollusc entry might have won.
Contingent evolution favored spines
but something else will rule, another time.

experimentalists

legumes and ship-worms host archaean genes
a mobile larder when the table's bare
a miracle of nano-tech machines
that fix dinitrogen out of thin air
and other molluscs photosynthesize
at least their symbiotes pull off the stunt
the giant clams use light, 'though they lack eyes
as sessile farmers, they don't have to hunt
but octopus do other chemistry
converting tryptophan to night-hued ink
evolving big brains independently
the sole invertebrate that's learned to think
protean molluscs staked out ev'ry niche
their boneless forms incomparably rich