Dino Dollars

I remember the swamp and palm trees
in the Golden Guide to Dinosaurs
where I walked in their great shadow
because they were more than biological
and not yet fossils.

The green brontosaurus' long neck
rose above the triceratops at the edge of the swamp,
plants dangling from his firm mouth.
He loved his dinner there
in the grey clouds peppered with pterydactyls.
In that picture, the volcanoes were settling,
becoming more friendly
after their violent birth
and I didn't really think about
where the tyrannosauruses would eat.
He was happy as the Sinclair dinosaur
and he did not know he would power our
Dodge Dart, where I sat in the back seat.
He was like me, not yet part of any particular world
that he had to make useful.