Dr. Roopali’s poem suggests dinosaurs evolved into birds to escape pollution, leaving haunting bones, exclusively for Different Truths.

They say dinosaurs may be
Roaming on some other planet.
I wonder why they left!
Perhaps it is because the
Chemical-soaked grass tasted bitter.

We heard they were frequently falling sick.
I know of at least one dinosaur
That developed asthma,
All because of the pollution.

The dark, smoky fog stung their eyes,
And the burning sensation wouldn’t go away.
Do you think that’s why they went away?

The garbage heaps were rising in leaps
They craned their long necks to see beyond.
The trees yielded few leaves for food
And so many were cut down.

The stench choked their nostrils
And waves of nausea made them
Stumble across the barren land.
And then their children began to die.
That’s when they decided to leave.
 
It was a difficult decision.
I am told they had to wait millennia to
Grow wings to fly to a faraway planet.
They have new names:
Micro-raptor and Archaeopteryx.
  
Their bodies shrank and
These giants became pigmies
Those despicable lizards that crawl
On apartment walls, in our crowded cities,
Our former dinosaurs.

Grave diggers found their skeletons,
Slender ribs and teeth are intact.
We carefully put these together
Showing these off in museums and parks.
Our children gasp at these apparitions.
Thankfully, they roam no more!
 
And then they found gestating deep
In the womb of Mother Earth in
Central India, a clutch of dinosaur eggs.
Waiting. Here lies perhaps
The promise of a rebirth.

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur is a poet, travel writer, and social justice activist. A former professor of English Literature at Delhi University, and a creative writing professor at IGNOU, she is a widely published academic and creative writer. Her book Twice Colonised: Women in African Literature, is a seminal text on women’s socio-political empowerment. In 2020-21, she co-edited two poetry anthologies – In All the Spaces: Diverse Voices in Global Women’s Poetry, and Earth Fire Water Wind.