dinosaur poem #3

the atmosphere traps more heat than it used to

even from 

when I was a child

thats a fact

and I can feel it 

the ozone layer aint what it used to be

even if the ground level ozone

aint what it used to be either 

it doesn’t work the same anyways

and my arms are just starting to look old

flecked tan and white white and tan

the baltic is a long way away

and it aint what it used to be 

either.

—

we were blessed to 

evolve in a time of plenty

riding the cycles (According to William Calvin)

of boom bust bust boom

opportunistically cooperating to munch 

the grazing animals

and gather the seeds of grasses 

sprung up in the wake of enormous fires (often set by us)

and sometimes,

devouring each other.

—

the river is phat still

a bit muddy, too dark to see the shad even more ferociously roiling 

in the big eddy below the concrete overflow

“I haven’t got a bite all day” he says

I think I got about 5 bites just on my paddle I say

the fish aren’t hungry

they want to fight.

—

but its heron season, shad season

whatever you want to call it

a young beaver

or muskrat is at ease in the high water

another hole to hide in

they are gone

— 

flocks of cormorants sit

on the rocks drying their wings in the morning.

big groups of them, like undertakers

black eyes staring at the sun.

—-

the bluebells are out in a plenty 

says John

I thought they were a fence

says Tom

I had just begun to notice them overpowering

the yellow of the violets.

i’m barely awake these days

the senses deadened

by the heat of the morning.

—-

like an animal

it makes you feel

fighting for survival

or just backwards surfing 

enjoying the heck out of the crashing 

chunderous waves 

that will knock you back

down and out

of your boat.

3 is a good number.

safety 3rd.

—

there’s still a dinosaur down there

head pointed down river

neck vertebrae now visible (at 4.8 on the government gauge above the city’s water intake)

but their tail is covered, and

the meatcleaver spine is just a massive lump of water

hiding a terminal hole.

the beast is always hungry.

satiated

it sleeps.