Bob, the Aerial Fossil Hunter

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Stephen Whiteside
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Bob, the Aerial Fossil Hunter

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Wed Dec 14, 2016 6:21 pm

Bob, the Aerial Fossil Hunter


There once was a great fossil hunter,
Known to his colleagues as Bob.
He worked night and day
(Mostly work, little play)
And became very good at his job.

Fossils he found in a cliff-face.
Fossils he found in the mud.
Fossils he found
In all sorts of ground.
Fossils were deep in his blood.

Then one day he had an idea.
“Dinosaurs sometimes could fly.
It would be really great.
If I could locate
A fossil high up in the sky.”

So he chartered a sweet little aircraft
That ferried him into the blue.
Though he felt slightly sick,
He carried a pick
And a hammer to tap at each clue.

He tethered his plane to a nimbus,
And put on a pair of cloud boots,
Then he hammered away
For the rest of the day
At the heart of the cloud, near its roots.

As the sun slipped down near the horizon,
Poor Bob, he had nothing to show
For his pitch at the sky.
He’d been left high and dry,
And he felt it as quite a hard blow.

But as the last rays of the sunshine
Reached up to the nimbus, blood red,
His pick, sharp and tough,
Didn’t hit fluffy stuff,
But struck something firmer instead.

He stood quite erect in his cloud boots,
Gave hammer a last mighty swing,
Then reached with his wrist,
Gave a yank, and a twist,
And pulled out a great feathered wing.

He knew from the moment he grabbed it,
It wasn’t the wing of a bird.
It was simply too vast,
And it called from the past,
And deep in his heart, something stirred.

Then our renowned fossil seeker
Kicked off his cumbersome boots.
He leapt in the sky
With no word of good bye,
Just a squeal and a couple of hoots.

That was the last he was spotted;
The last time, but was it the end?
Some say at night
He is seen clinging tight
To the neck of a large feathered friend…


© Stephen Whiteside 12.12.2016
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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Shelley Hansen
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Re: Bob, the Aerial Fossil Hunter

Post by Shelley Hansen » Thu Dec 15, 2016 11:32 am

Love it, Stephen! It just cries out for an illustrated version!

I have a young friend who has not yet started school, who would simply love this - as his current favourite topics are flying (preferably in spaceships) and dinosaurs!!! Added to that, he loves poetry!

Air travel and dinosaurs together in a poem??? That would be heaven to him!!

Cheers
Shelley
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: Bob, the Aerial Fossil Hunter

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:12 pm

Thanks, Shelley!
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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David Campbell
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Re: Bob, the Aerial Fossil Hunter

Post by David Campbell » Fri Dec 16, 2016 9:30 am

Stephen, once again your mind takes us to strange and wonderful places. Do you dream about such things?

Cheers
David

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: Bob, the Aerial Fossil Hunter

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Sat Dec 17, 2016 6:42 am

Thanks, David. Feathered fossils seem to point to the clouds...
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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