The Velociraptor and the Protoceratops

The raptor slashes with its sickle claw;
lethal, but not itself immune from harm.
The herbivore clamps down its horn-beaked jaw
to crush the bones of its attacker’s arm.
These two are fighting to the death, of course:
no way can both of them emerge alive.
Driven by nature’s most primeval force
they struggle on, but neither will survive.
There is no winner of this fateful clash:
the dune above them, waterlogged by rains
collapses as the creatures writhe and thrash.
The irony is lost on reptile brains:
the same wet sand that smothers their last breath
will grant them immortality in death.