Extinct

by Madelyn Rosenberg

Today my son cried
because the Titanic sank and there are no more
dinosaurs.
Agnosticism is no help here.
Better to believe in reincarnation
and find a velociraptor's spirit
in some supple living thing
or to over-pack like King Tut for worlds to come.
Instead I breathe deep
grasp at straws and small shoulders.
“But the turtles,” I say. “The turtles survived.”




Madelyn Rosenberg is a freelance writer in Arlington, Virginia. Her nonfiction work has appeared in The Roanoke Times, Bluegrass Unlimited, Parenting, eMusic, The Washington Post, and The Rough Guides Book of Playlists. Her fiction has appeared in LadyBug Magazine (for kids) and Other Voices (not for kids). She has two children, ages 2 and 5, and her writing is now mostly relegated to the hours between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.