Amphioxi Poem by Dr. Antony Theodore

Amphioxi populated
the oceans about
550 million years
ago, and they
lived simple lives.

Its meager nervous
system included a teeny
clump of cells that
was not quite a brain.

When you look at a
modern amphioxus,
you behold a creature
very similar to your
own ancient, tiny ancestor
who roamed the same seas.

The amphioxus didn't
need a brain.
Its cells for sensing
were connected to its
cells for moving,
so it reacted to
its meager senses
without much processing.
(Indebted to the
thinking of Lisa Feldman Barrett)