Cities and suburbs, real and imaginary.

Monday, March 17, 2008

revenge of the thunder lizards II

nobody knows where the thunder lizards went
with their ravenous roaming all over the continents
the booming music and the drunken fistfights
the switchblade secrets hidden from the streetlights
but me, i see dinosaur bones sometimes
when i watch fellas stand on the line
hey, say step forward to boy number four
officer, i'm certain that's the one you're looking for

i heard this rumor on the corner about the thunder lizards returning soon
they all charging strong to bring the world a vengeful doom
i climbed a hill outside of town to watch the dinosaurs attack
but they was only asian elephants trading tools for greenbacks
and me? i only see dinosaur bones sometimes
when i watch the fellas stand on that line
hey, say step forward to number two
he may not be the one exactly, but i guess he'll do.

i hide in plain sight among the residents
i keep my talons sharp on their dead presidents
nobody but me remembers how we all used to do
birds sing hard songs about what we put this city through
but listen close, chickadees, i'm only saying this once
if you was living back then, you'd be hunted or on the hunt
i smile and nibble on some fresh fruit
and the red juice dribbles on my white suit
ditch my daughter with the feathers on her face
hop a train at the station, and look for others of my race.

***
still not quite right, is it? I just love that Italo Calvino "Dinosaur" story so much, and I can't seem to get the poem about it just right.

I'll try again someday.

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