Tyrannosaurus Rex stands with his jaws
wide open, dagger-lined. His fetid breath
paralyzes stegosaurus--and because
the spiny beast can't run, presages death.
With gnarled toes the Tyrant pins his prey
and to the heavens bellows forth his blast
of triumph. A hapless pterodactyl stray
falls from the sky, knocked senseless by the gas.
In fact, all round the slavering Lizard King
creatures are falling prone: a dragonfly,
bat-size, collapses; scavenger mammals spring
but ere they reach the carcass, cross their eyes.
A thing no paleontologist knows is
the pong of prehistoric halitosis.
1 comment:
The humorous sonnet is much underrated. I bet t-rex's breath did stink. Love the double-syllable rhyme in conclusion, just the right rhythmic touch to echo the humor.
To me, "paralyzes stegosaurus, and because" is six beats with an acataleptic first foot. But then again, I have no trouble with variations in line length.
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