Used by Permission of Cindy Knoke
Used by Permission of Cindy Knoke
Used by Permission of Cindy Knoke
When dinosaurs greeted the dawn,
perhaps they tweeted and twittered,
while they preened and flirted,
just as their modern descendants
greet the dawn with a chorus that
rattles shutters and billows curtains.
Birds descend from avian dinosaurs.
Even mighty T-Rex has more in common
with birds than with alligators, despite
the snap in his step and bite in his bounce.
I can see T-Rex, perched on a cliff,
crowing every morning like a rooster.
Imagine the world in dinosaur days —
those great bird ancestors, colorful as orioles
and hummingbirds, kestrels and cardinals,
bigger than circling Andean condors,
playing hide and seek in a forested world,
a world of song and feather, poet-heard.
If the prehistoric dawn chorus is unrecorded,
it’s not unimagined. I hear its echo
in the dim darkness each morning —
a dinosaur dawn-song is the start to my day.
Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes: Thanks to Cindy Knoke whose nature photography never fails to inspire. Andean Condors have a 10-foot wing span, and they are the largest flying birds in the modern world. Happy Poetry Friday to everyone in advance! Thanks to Karen Edmisten for hosting. Lets of great poetry at Karen’s site, starting Friday morning.
48 thoughts on “Dinosaur Dawn”
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Friendly Fairy Tales 
The only thing as lovely as Cindy’s photos is your poetry! It is a joy to know & follow you both!
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Likewise, my streetwise friend!
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I’m applauding on this side of the screen. First, what incredible photos! And, what a fun and imaginative poem.
I loved “the snap in his step and bite in his bounce.” That’s just fantastic! Way to go, this week!
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Thanks, Linda! I am having a great weekend so far. Rejection is far more common than success, so we have to celebrate where we can!
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Love your poem and her photographs always blow me away. Wonderful combination. ❤
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Thanks, Gigi. I had fun with it. I don’t see birds the same way, now. 🙂
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I love this line: “a world of song and feather, poet-heard.” Well done!
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I’m glad you like it. I had fun trying to make the case for a dawn chorus of dinosaurs. I wonder if the kids will like dinosaurs more or less, knowing they had a part in the songs that wake them before dawn.
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So fun to think about the visitors to the feeders as dinosaur ancestors!
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Those dinosaurs would be happy to see their tiny descendants are well-fed by humans, I would think.
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I’ll bet this poem would be a kid-favorite! In our family, we find it entirely believable that birds are descended from dinosaurs because our wee lovebird is very fierce.
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Thanks, Tabatha. I do hope kids like my poems. When I read this one to my daughter, the look on her face when I read about T-Rex crowing was priceless.
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Love that you traveled so far back from those beautiful photos in imagining that pre-historic dawn. The sounds today are rather loud, so in yesteryear, must have been a huge wake-up call. Love the t-rex/rooster call!
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I had fun with the thought. I think T-Rex might’ve crowed loudest of all. Maybe there’s a picture book there.
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
ORNITHOLOGICAL PREMISE….POETICALLY!
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A bird in the hand…
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Looks like they’re all over the yard!
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Cindy takes great photos. All over the world!
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Indeed she does. What a nice frame to your fine writing, Brenda. Excellent work by both of you! 🙂
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I wish I could travel like she does. But at least I get to see the best of her pictures.
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Those photos are gorgeous, and I loved stepping into your world of tweeting, twittering, crowing dinosaurs, Brenda!
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Thanks, Michelle. My younger son wanted to watch Jurassic Park recently, and I had an extreme reaction. 🙂
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Love the “dinosaur dawn-song!” Thinking about T-Rex crowing like a rooster cracks me up.
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Coulda happened. 😉
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DINOSAURS!! My inner child is so, so close to the surface sometimes, so poetry about dinosaurs in any form just speaks to my heart. 😀
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LOL Awesome! Trying to find something new to say about dinosaurs is not easy! 🙂
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Incredible bird photos! Love imagining the prehistoric dawn chorus, so beautifully described in your poem. You made me think about birds and dinosaurs in an entirely different way. Wonderful!
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I’m so glad, Jama. I imagine they are singing about chocolate. 😉
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LOL
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Jama is often blogging about chocolate. 😉
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A wonderful wonderful little poem-story! ❤
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Thanks, Trini!
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what a wonderful poem to go with cindy’s wonderful pictures )
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Thanks, Beth. Cindy inspired the poem in her comments. 🙂
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How lovely!
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Aren’t Cindy’s pictures outstanding?
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Thank you for sharing. And the,images of the,birds are incredible. Imagine prehistoric warbles!
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What a lively world it must have been. Jurassic Park made the dinos flat and boring. Think how colorful and full of song they must have been. 🙂 Makes me smile to imagine it.
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You are talent on wings my friend! Your words bring life to these images. I always think of birds as little dinosaurs. Hugs and friendship flying your way from Canada~
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Enjoy life in the Primordial Palace of the North. 🙂
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Wonderful 🙂 🙂
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Thanks, Morgan!
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(*^‿^*) ✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ღ˚ •。* ˚ ˚✰˚ ˛ Have a Wonderful Weekend my Friend~ ★* 。 ღ˛° 。✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫ (*^‿^*)
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Wow, what a magical comment!
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🙂 Thanks Brenda 😉 Just sprinkling a little Fairy Dust around WP 🙂
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Fairy dust is always welcome. XOXO
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Awesome bird photos 🙂
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Cindy is awesome. You should check her out.
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