Alligators survived the asteroid impact
The one the dinosaurs didn't
That allowed new species of mammals to evolve
The reason we humans came to exist
Dogs exist only because humans do
Selecting breeds to serve their purposes
Now sometimes eaten by alligators
Here in Florida where we winter
Everyone wants to see an alligator
In the lakes and swamps we frequent
To get a look at this fearsome predator
While keeping a safe distance away
It's something else that draws us there
To see the avian descendants of dinosaurs
Though we take everything in including them
And often have close encounters
Stepping past alligators sprawled on a trail
Keeping on high alert ready to react
Seeing their shining skin and glinting eyes
Their sharp claws and toothsome jaws
That the birds evolved from dinosaurs
And the asteroid crater found in the Yucatan
Two things learned by humans in my lifetime
Who best not walk their dogs where we go
Which species will survive the current die off
And what new life forms will evolve in their place
That is the anthropocene question
Asked of alligators birds humans and their dogs
