In the footsteps

Dinosaur tracks on the A16 route,
Courtedoux

by David Garbutt, Switzerland

In the footsteps
we could fit you,
you were small
            how things have changed.
They walked the shore
their children following
           how things have changed.
They stepped in mud     long
before the meteor
            how things have changed.
We squat here touching
their footprints     long passed by
how things have changed.
    Dried sea—sunk to rock
    that family—sunk in time
    white-sunken-crushed-shells risen high
    rock—for a motorway laid bare—

Packed gravel. Tarmac, Concrete.
The Plasticene. So begins a new layer —
            that’s how things have changed.

“At times, we have had surfaces of up to 4,000-5,000 square metres [of footprints] which we could not move.
We have nevertheless saved a considerable part of these surfaces, for a total of about 1,000 square metres. Otherwise,
all dinosaur track sites were covered [by the motorway]. There is nothing visible remaining.” Swiss Info: Fossils vs
Fuel – Dinosaur delayed motorway finally opens