Tyrannosaurus Regina

"Tyrannosaurus Regina"

(c) 2011 by Yael R. Dragwyla

Underneath the Moon she stands,
Upon a plain of silvered moss
And ink-black pools of rocky earth,
Gazing wistfully up at the Milky Way.
Two more females and a male of her kind
Lie sprawled upon the warm, weedy ground,
Dreaming strange dreams beneath the Summer Moon
Or twitching in a sentient sleep,
Working out strategies,
Preparing for the coming day,
Chasing and catching,
Clutching and killing,
Engaging in battles
Of rough-skinned display
And contests of dance
And bellowing song,
Exchanging current gossip
And catechized history,
Weaving sleep’s hot webs
Of vast, vital being.

The dawn will pick out
On her pebbled skin
Bars of maroon
On a background of jet,
And patches of pink
At throat, chest, and wrist:
Her nation’s flag
And her genealogy.
But now she is midnight
And pale gray cloud,
The Moon’s star-flecked mucus
Covering her
With a wet, shiny glow
Soft and damp as a pearl,
Mutely lustrous
As new-sown sperm.
She sighs softly skyward
And lifts her hands slightly,
A prayer to a God
And for what, she knows not;
Then slowly she sinks
To the Summer-warmed earth,
To dream in more knowledge
From professorial stars.