Paul deposited skeletal bones
in a trash bag.
He dug them out of a dry creek bank.
They were partially exposed.
Paul wondered what noisy stomach
prompted an attack
and if scavengers
shook pompoms while cheering from afar.
He had no idea the insect names
that strip the bone clean of sinew
but identified canine teeth
gnawed themselves clean on a femur.
Paul imagined finding a T-Rex
or other dinosaur
exposed by the next rampaging storm
that bloomed the desert flowers.
copyright © 2022 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 