You've heard reincarnation stories—
people relating their experiences as
Genghis Khan, King Arthur, Ramses II,
some Princess or Wizard from lost
continents of Atlantis and Lemuria.

Well, I never had an experience
from a past life, but I did have
a vivid dream one night... It was
an inlet by the sea, bluest blue
surrounds soaring cliffs of green.

Oh, what a horizon— a single
bat-winged pterodactyl glides
serenely under an azure sky.
Turquoise waves stir slowly,
ripples circle wide, wider—

a plesiosaur rears its head
crunching on lush branches.
Everything so fresh and alive
amidst these real dinosaurs,
and I am the brontosaurus!


— Peter Y. Chou
     Palo Alto, 5-4-1988