[Inspired by Carolyn Derbyshire’s
‘Footprints’ contest but too long]
For Dr Bartholomew Green
There’s little that he hasn’t seen
But here on this Jurassic coast
Is the place that he relishes most
These imprints so frequently found
All over this beach do abound
Like clues that the dinosaurs sent
To show where they've been, where they went
These steps of a huge Allosaurus
Which paced this beach sometime before us
Are clues that can now be unravelled
To find out just how far he travelled
The team trace the route that he took
Each making notes in his book
The cavern was worth a good look
But then the ground rumbled and shook
A rockfall or something more scary?
They made their way back, feeling wary
Then Doctor Bartholomew Green
Reset the time travel machine
Big old saurus, brontosaurus, allasauaurus too
You’ll never see a single one in a park or in a zoo
Long ago they roamed the earth when everything was green
Now they are only fossils; that’s all I‘ve ever seen
Everywhere were very many on the land and in the sea
And even flying dinosaurs that could perch upon a tree
Some were truly monstrous or very, very tall
Others were so tiny they could run up any wall
The kings were mighty tyrannosaurs, huge teeth in gleaming white
They were so big and fast that they won most every fight
In the sea were fearsome sharks and dangers everywhere
It wouldn’t be safe to sail or swim if you were living there
You’d probably be a little snack for some ferocious fish
Or maybe you would taste real good in an allosaurus dish
So be real glad you are living now, not with them back then
Enjoy your life with deer and cows and seagulls at the beach
And be real glad the dinosaurs are truly out of reach
My research reveals there's an Allosaurus
And a dinosaur called a Zupaysaurus.
As you can readily see,
I have searched from A to Z,
But am yet to find one called a Thesaurus!
Entry for Roy Jerden's "Limericks Clean and Clever" Contest
(10 Nov 2014)
The big Allosaurus
Loved to bite its neighbour
Guzzle blood by gallons
The Apatosaurus
Laid eggs in sand nest
An ugly herbivore
A few had wings to fly
Giant beaks and piercing eyes
Stole fledgling from nests
But lived long ago
That we may never learn or know
whether could be good pets