A Story’s Genesis

by Clive Tern

Pre-historic birds would fear modern cats,
organized ideally for early flight,
their fear defenses were not yet exact.

Now hunters are elegant acrobats,
meticulous in both stalk and attack.
Pre-historic birds would fear modern cats.

Dragons do not fear, with this caveat:
professional and imaginary,
their fear defenses were not yet exact.

Mouse-deer tell stories of crocs on mudflats
and other things, but tell a simple tale;
pre-historic birds would fear modern cats.

A time-vortex sending a pirate back
to the past would learn, of pterodactyls,
their fear defenses were not yet exact.

Creators will create and thinkers think
doers do, always learning from the past:
pre-historic birds would fear modern cats,
their fear defenses are not yet exact.

Clive Tern lives in rural Scotland where he cares for his wife and three children. His fiction has appeared in Page & Spine and Word Riot. He is also a member of the First Reader team at Spark: A Creative Anthology.