Aphelion Issue 301, Volume 28
December 2024 / January 2025
 
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Extinct

by Clinton Van Inman


Sixty millions years ago in a wink
An asteroid crashed to Earth in a clink
Wiped out the dinosaurs in a blink
And made everything else go extinct
Except the hairy one who learned to think
Now he's called the missing link.

Was it fate or chance for brains to replace
Brute brawn and bulk that fell from grace?
But if the asteroid had missed its footrace
There would be some other creature in place
Perhaps some reptilian one with some scaly face
Proclaiming that they too are from a chosen race.


© 2013 Clinton Van Inman

Clinton Van Inman claims to be one of the few remaining Beat Poets who still bang the drum slowly now for the Cause. Recent publications include Internet magazines: Poetry, BlackCatPoems, The Inclement, The Tower Journal, and the Beatnik, while recent magazines include Down in the Dirt, Hudson View, and Indiana University Spirits to name a few. Currently, he is trying to gather most of his poetry together to publish in a book to be called "One Last Beat."

Clinton was born in England in 1945, graduated from San Diego State University in 1977. He is a high school teacher in Tampa Bay, and lives in Sun City Center, Florida with his wife, Elba.

Find more by Clinton Van Inman in the Author Index.

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