dinosaur on a leash

i stumbled on this photo from a century ago:
paris or new york it seems, somewhere stylish anyway:

a lady in black taffeta with one of those wide-brimmed hats
strolls along a leafy boulevard with a crocodile on a leash

i’d like to walk a dinosaur down market street
-a small one, like a turkey, perhaps an eodromaius

or a bambiraptor, isn't that a lovely name?

i’d feed her bits of hot dogs and warm pretzels
-no sauerkraut or mustard please

and the girls would coo how cute
and the boys would want to know if she fights or bites

and i’d be like salvador dali and his famous anteater
emerging from the paris metro

maybe i should grow a dali mustache

whiskers waxed to points,

my face adorned with curb feelers:

a catfish man sauntering down the street

tipping my hat to slack-jawed gawkers

with a wink at the ladies and the flip of a chunk

of hot dog into the air

where the bambiraptor leaps

to catch the snack in her slender jaws

and as the people gasp

i twirl my slim mustachio
and make a sweeping bow