“dinosaur egg” by kerry rawlinson

May 15, 2024

Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “dinosaur egg” by kerry rawlinson. Due to its formatting, this poem is only available as an image.

indifference sneaks insidiously under the skin. it seals us in: swells & thickens to shield us from prickles & predators, preserving us (as we assert in our defense) from serious hurt. its cells congeal quite fast, multiplying dis- proportionately & proliferating, then callus to provide immunity. we’re safe! & complacent! oh—but now we’re guarded from the good as well as the terrible. look how we turn as leathery & insular as the egg of a fossilized dinosaur inside its hooded womb, equally aloof & just as doomed.

Copyright © kerry rawlinson

kerry rawlinson is a mental nomad & bloody-minded optimist who gravitated decades ago from sunny Zambian skies to solid Canadian soil. Winner of Princemere Poetry Prize 2024, honorably mentioned in Proverse Press and Fish Poetry prizes and placed in others, e.g. Bridport, Canterbury Poetry; Room; National Poetry Society and Palette, she has forthcoming or recent work in: Passager; League of Canadian Poets; Pinhole Poetry; Touchstone Lit; Novus Lit; UCity Review; Drunk Monkeys; Wild Roof Journal; Suburban Review; Topic Take Up; Grain; Freefall; Rochford St. Review and more. kerry is still wandering barefoot through dislocation and belonging—and still drinks too much (tea). kerryrawlinson.com @kerryrawli

Subscribe to Poetry Pause, or support Poetry Pause with a donation today!

Browse the Poetry Pause archives