Figure E9 FUMAROLE

Long ere upper ocean was alive

Hidden from the light of Earth’s first day

Along a ridge volcanic, creatures thrive

Far from Sol’s photosynthetic sway.

Mats of microbes feast on boiling clay,

Great tube-worms sport their bloody plumage well,

And here a squamous winkle makes its way

With scaly foot and iron sulphide shell,

A heavy metal snail, a mollusc fit for HELL.