When laurels evolved long ago
Some became an avocado
A berry with a monstrous seed.
Its flesh was poison to most
Of swallowing it whole, few could boast
Only the largest could use it to feed.
Ground sloths of considerable size
And gomphotheres, I would surmise
Would have had the guts to digest.
Too bad, these animals are gone
So sad, their demise at the dawn
Of humans, whose hunting was best.
Ten thousand years in the past
These mammals died out very fast
Although humans spared white-tailed deer.
Still, avocadoes live on today
Helped by those who like to say
Guacamole, but not gomphothere.
