Amphibious Amphibian

I'm an amphibious amphibian
Breathing and drinking through my skin
Shedding it on a regular basis
Always staying near my favourite oasis

My nostrils and mouth I shut tight
And squeeze my lungs so that I might
Blow up my sac and join in the choir
Some of us sing low, some of us sing higher

The colour of my skin can match my surrounds
So that you won't even know I'm around
Sometimes I'm brown and sometimes I'm green
Camouflaged so well that I can't be seen

I'm an amphibious amphibian
You don't know the trouble I'm in
A tapeworm, Spirometra, that also lives in the cat
Is not doing me any good, it's squishing my organs flat
The Chytrid fungus is giving me chytridiomycosis
I'm dying all over the world, can someone please, please take notice

(Sydney, Australia - 2005)

Alessandra Liverani