PALEOPOEMS

These are musings of a retired paleontologist who has been privileged to travel to every continent and work on major events in the history of life on Earth. Most of the poems are odes, but some are parody lyrics to classic songs such as “As time goes by” from the movie Casablanca and “Don’t cry for me Argentina” from the musical Evita. Many of the poems and parodies develop themes in my scientific published work, so a short bibliography is included. Paleontology is not just dusty excavation and tedious analysis, but grounds for inspired imagination. These personal reflections celebrate the joy of being a paleontologist, and the profound questions that can be addressed from the fossil record.