Sense Sonnet - Acher

Life Guards

I was having a nice swim.
I've been a swimmer all my life,
But then a net turned my dip grim.
I got caught up in tangled strife.
I pushed and pulled to no success.
I knew my chances were not good,
That I would get out of this mess.
I tried to pray as best I could.
Guardian angels came found me.
They did their right stuff of rescue.
It wasn't long and I was free,
Back to my swim in the deep blue.

I'm glad I'm here to tell the tale.
Thanks savers from this humpback whale.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Black Cat

I killed a cursed black cat, and then
Brought another black cat back home.
I sensed its bad foreboding when
In between my feet it would roam.
I tried to kill it, but my wife
Stopped me, so I killed her instead.
She'd been a nagging pain in life,
Sealed her in the cellar wall dead.
The black cat disappeared, okay.
The police came to make a call.
Screeching cellar sounds led the way.
The black cat on corpse in the wall.

"The Black Cat," a short tale by Poe.
Black cats are bad luck - doncha know!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Anana the Star - Lincoln Park Zoo

Ah - look at my adoring fans,
Come here to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Folks don't have long attention spans,
But I thrill 'em - that's what I do.
Anana, the polar bear star,
With my own reality show.
All of the days of each year are
My dazzling showtimes - doncha know!
When I'm on stage, all eyes are on
My ev'ry movement, land or pool.
Humans to me are ever drawn,
Because I am just so dang cool!

It is demanding, yes it is.
But what the heck, it's all show biz.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Disney Down

Sinkholes in Florida are quite
A common event, more and more.
Anytime, anyplace one might
Suddenly be where not before.
Water aquifers underground
Constantly erode porous stone.
Add building weight that does abound,
No surprise of a sinkhole zone.
The loss of life and property
Seems to be on a paced increase.
Not if but when the next hole be.
Once started sinking will not cease.

Suddenly a sinkhole appeared,
And Disney World just disappeared.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Go Giver

Go givers are the ones who go
To others who are in a need,
And give help to the others, so
To better others' lives indeed.
Some others are in hospice care
Awaiting death that will soon come.
Hospice volunteers go to share,
To make the wait less worrisome.
A cheery word, a friendly smile,
The volunteers go give good to
The dying, some sweet comfort while
There still is dear living to do.

I do not have too long to live.
The volunteers for me go give.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Buyer Be Dumb

The elite of the U.S.A.
Are mostly found in government.
They do their schtick in such a way
To fool We sheep they represent.
Elites are all playing their game.
We the People are kicked about.
Cheating's encouraged with no shame.
Elites are in, rest of us - out.
We the People, while getting kicked
Are sold a bunch of elite lies
That are forever being schticked
And We keep buying - no surprise!

Elites sold. We the People bought.
We the People are dumb a lot.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Hadada Ibis - LP Zoo

This little bird is telling you
A hadada ibis new chick
Is hatched at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
I'm both growing and learning quick.
Sub saharan Africa is
Home to my family in kind.
My scimitar bill's good for biz,
For digging underground to find
Critters that are yummy to eat.
The red striped bill matches my toes.
Iredescent purple wings - neat!
Wow fashion statement says such clothes.

Why's hadada part of my name?
"Haa-haa-haa-de-dah," I proclaim.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

First Choice

It was Sheryl and Rosie and me,
All on board our Boundless yacht.
The boat hit a reef while at sea.
My wife. Sheryl's jacket got caught.
I could see land not far away.
So Rose, my terrier, I
Swam her to shore. She was okay.
I viewed the sinking yacht nearby.
Sheryl, still on board, was sinking too,
Screaming for me to save her life.
I pondered moments what to do,
Then swam back and got my wife.

Picked my best friend o'er my dear spouse.
Doggone worth it - in the dog house.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Mind over Matter

Physics is physics - cave folk thought.
What's there to know about a rock?
But over time, thought changed a lot,
As humans did more than just talk.
The wondrous stuff we do today
Were once just dreams the dreamers dreamed.
But over time was found a way
To do impossible once seemed.
The universe waits for us to
Find the physics that will allow
Us not just to dream but to do
Space travel. Some of us know how.

So who am I to be aware?
Just an E.T. from way out there.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

The Little Prince - LP Zoo

'Twas in "The Little Prince" story
Set in Saharan desert sand,
That a wise fennec fox there be
To help the Prince to understand
The nature of the truest love,
By feeling responsible for
A rose among the many of
The roses that one might adore.
Responsibility exists
For anything that's human tamed.
Just one of many plot twists,
The fennec fox plot line was famed.

So listen to the fennec fox
For words of wisdom when she talks.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Fem Lib Lewd

For men only, sex scandals thus
That have gotten the public eye.
Are feminists making a fuss -
Double standard 'tween gal and guy?
The girls can do the dirty deed
With a much more dramatic bust
To better fill the public's need
For sordid sex scandals to trust.
Men's sex scandals just don't rise up
To games women could play around.
So gals, let's grab that gusto cup,
So tales of her scores will abound.

So c'mon ladies who will be
The first to prove equality?

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Trick or Treat Anana - LP Zoo

I am Anana, polar bear.
My residence - Lincoln Park Zoo.
I do my fun stuff with such flair.
Getting treats is a big to do.
Playing with toys is good and fine,
Like balls and logs, but my real fav
Is stuff upon which I can dine.
If I can eat it, I will rave.
Humans here like to do a mix.
Sometimes it's food, sometimes not.
Ah - I've gotten used to their tricks,
As long as I just don't get squat.

After clawing this block of ice,
Finding a fish would be so nice.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Sun-nuS

The sun's magnetic field this year
Will do a reverse of its poles.
The north and south will reappear,
Doing the opposite of roles.
Ev'ry eleven years, the sun
Does this topsy-turvy routine.
No Hollywood type doomsday done.
Dazzling auroras make the scene.
Experts have theories on the why.
But no one really knows for sure.
Complicated - so simplify
What makes this crescendo occur.

Why are the sun poles 'bout to flip?
A jumbo hamster makes the trip.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bejookee - LP Zoo

I am Bejookee, puma queen
Of the realm of Lincoln Park Zoo.
From my ledge, I take in the scene.
If you're nearby, I'm watching you.
Mountain lion or cougar or
Panther or catamount also,
Are all names the humans have for
This wild pussy cat - doncha know!
I had a cousin visit me.
Came to Chicago on the run.
Nervous humans - that's how they be.
Cuz' visit done cuz of a gun.

I'm happy here in my Zoo den.
I don't go chasing younger men.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Mincing Mockingbird

A mincing mocking bird - what's that?
Mincing is defined as food prep.
I found a mockingbird - quite fat.
It tried to mock me, but no pep.
I put an aspirin up its butt,
To birdy heaven painlessly.
Then with a chef's knife, I did cut,
Making it as minced as could be.
Then into the oven it went,
And baked until a crispy brown.
I took it out - oh what a scent!
Could hardly wait to chow it down.

Perhaps not a food choice for some,
But adding ketchup - it was yum!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Myra - LP Zoo

Here at Lincoln Park Zoo, I catch
A lot of naps during the day.
For a lioness, sleep is natch,
To while most of hours away.
Here, I don't get to hunt and stuff.
The keepers give me food to eat.
I lay out on a rocky bluff,
And dream of hunting the fresh meat.
So many humans to choose from.
Some skinny, some fat, short and tall.
Zoo visitors - so dreamysome
To claw and teeth them - one and all.

Watch me nap at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Am I dreaming of eating you?

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Tickles My Feathers

Humans have a thing for us birds,
Wanting to know secrets we keep.
A peahen, I don't say the words
How humans act. I just say "bleep."
Humans fitted me with hi tech
To see how I see a peacock.
I play along - oh what the heck!
If I don't do it, they'll just squawk.
The peacock puts on quite a show.
Rattles feathers to catch my eye.
I'm out for some fun - doncha know!
No rush to hitch up with one guy.

The fans flair out as peacocks strip.
Best place a gal can stick a tip.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Northern Pike

Each year in spring I make the trip,
Going out of Lake Michigan,
And all across Green Bay I slip,
To get my purpose in life done.
From the Bay into a small ditch,
A red tailed hawk tries to grab me,
But I elude in a quick pitch,
But talon marks on me there be.
With too low water, I get stuck.
Into a net my bod does swing,
Catch a ride in a pick up truck,
And then let loose to do my thing.

That's what my spawning urge is like,
In the life of this Northern pike.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Founder of Sounder

Created equal are all men,
Endowed by certain rights by God -
Life and liberty wrote his pen.
Pursuit of happiness he jawed.
Thomas Jefferson, founder of
Using the words that framed the dream.
We the People should rise above
The history of human scheme.
Power of words still are today,
Used to hide power of control.
The leaders still will ever say
Whatever keeps their power whole.

Not by words, but how one behaves -
Thomas Jefferson did own slaves.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Logan

Time running, Logan was there for
The wedding of his Mom and Dad.
In pinstripe suit, none dapper more
Than this little two year old lad.
The best man in so many ways.
Ravaged by cancer, yet so young.
Only to live a few more days,
With so much love he shared among
Not only those who were close by,
But all of us who came to know
The best of worst for this sweet guy,
Who gave a tug on each heart so.

We do not know why is God's plan.
Why did God take this best best man?

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Hatchling with Heart - LP Zoo

I was hatched at Lincoln Park Zoo,
A cinerous vulture chick that
Has a heart murmur. The folks knew,
Left my egg in the habitat.
Sounds harsh, but that is nature's way.
But humans like to intervene.
They incubated me okay,
Hand reared me when I came on scene.
A cardiologist will try
To fix my heart from going bad.
Meanwhile, I'm giving life a try,
Getting along with Mom and Dad.

Thanks for taking good care of me.
Pray for this bird of prey to be.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Babe

George Herman Ruth, best known as "Babe."
The Baltimore Orioles got
Him first, as vets gave him that labe,
Then common for a baseball tot.
"Sultan of Swat" and "Bambino,"
Other nicknames that Babe got called.
Went to the Boston Red Sox, so
For five years he super baseballed.
Then to the New York Yankees sold.
Money was now name of the game.
Babe's baseball history got told,
And still today the Babe finds fame.

In sports think of the nicknames all,
None bigger than "Babe" of baseball.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Black Crowned Night Heron - LP Zoo

The black crowned night heron - now that's
A mouthful for humans to say.
We like to live in wetland flats.
Lincoln Park Zoo - great place to stay.
I'm just a youngster not long hatched.
How 'bout those orange eyes - so awesome!
I got two of them, nicely matched,
To watch what's going to and from.
I am a night bird all about
The fun and food that's happening.
During the day I try stay out
Of humans' goofy ways they bring.

Endangered here in Illinois,
I bring the Zoo a little joy.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Cantaro

A cantaro, the hands made me
From clay into ceramic jar.
Percussion instrument to be,
Played by hands for sweet sounds that are.
Hands took me on board a big ship,
And touched me for my music joy.
A fierce sea storm ended the trip.
Destructive death did say, "Ahoy."
But I sank safely to my fate.
But with no hands, I could not play.
Beneath the waters, I did wait
Till hands held me another day.

Centuries later, I am found.
Hands again make my music sound.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Fly Spy

Whew! It was a very close call.
I was in between flights and got
Caught by some Turks at the mall.
And around my foot they did spot
My Israel secret agent ring.
I was back boarded and x-rayed.
But no way could they make me sing.
No stool pigeon would I be made.
At last the Turks let me go free.
Some ruffled feathers but okay.
Soon back to Tel Aviv I'll be,
To wing it on the Turks, hey, hey.

I know Turk secrets, be assured.
I am the golden eye spy bird.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

How to Meditate

Meditation, the experts say
In formulas they wish to sell,
Is how the mind can find a way
To deal with stuff of living hell.
We all must deal with outside stress.
The key to that is seeking in
And tuning out into success.
We need retreat inside the skin.
The force we must fight consciously
Is the addiction to feel part,
Thanks to global technology,
That all alone, we are not smart.

Here's meditation that comes cheap,
And the word for it is sleep.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Her Burden

Thor's hero shrew - what's in a name?
We got pro he and anti she.
The male god of strength of Norse fame.
And why not a heroine? Gee!
A human female called a shrew
Is certainly no compliment.
But that's what human males do do,
Is make it all about the gent.
The backbone of us girls are just
As strong as those the boys do boast.
And like most species, you can trust.
We girls have to endure the most.

Whatever species, he need know
The scorn of she never lets go.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

New Prince - LP Zoo

I am a prince just newly born
In the land of Lincoln Park Zoo.
I do not wish to toot my horn,
But I'm Prince Charming through and through.
A Francois langur monkey prince,
Born to Queen Pumpkin, dear ol' Mum,
With lots of Aunties to help hence.
The girls rule here in this queendom.
The adults are black, gray and white.
I will be too, six months or so.
But now I'm easy to catch sight,
A bundle of joy in orange glow.

Come to the royal court and see
The precious orange prince - this is me!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Ossicone - LP Zoo

As a Baringo giraffe, I
Have five of them upon my head.
Any purpose - I don't know why.
Just for decoration instead.
Two atop, one behind each ear.
One on the forehead, 'tween the eyes.
Called ossicones by folk I hear,
Fancy word for bumps - no surprise.
Humans like piercings and tattoos.
Perhaps they'd like an ossicone.
I have several they could use,
And have one for their very own.

A human sure could galivant
With a head ossicone transplant.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

White Lipped Deer - LP Zoo

I'm called a white lipped deer - guess why?
Let me give you a heads up hint.
All my mouth markings - good eye!
To browse and graze - my lips well spent.
I'm from the Tibetan plateau,
And used to altitude quite high.
The Lincoln Park Zoo, level low,
But what a fun place for this guy.
Each spring my antlers take a fall.
The rest of the year they grow back.
Chicago weather - love it all.
Eating the plants - my white lips smack.

Lincoln Park Zoo - right for my mood,
High altitude of gratitude.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chicago Dog

The Chicago style hot dog is
An all beef frankfurter cooked done,
Steamed, boiled or grilled - the vendor's biz.
Then put on a poppy seed bun.
Yellow mustard is put on top,
With green sweet pickle relish near.
Then add some white onions, chop, chop,
Tomato slice, dill pickle spear,
Just a dash of celery salt.
Dragged through the garden, so to speak.
But use ketchup and face the fault
For react havoc that would wreak.

One is living high on the hog,
Chowing down a Chicago Dog.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Helen Thomas

For decades, Helen Thomas asked
Questions that made Presidents wince.
In the White House Press Corps, she basked
In what was once groundwork for gents.
Each Prez press brief she'd start and end.
Each Prez at the mercy of her
Belief that she was no Prez friend.
A fiesty force, for sure, for sure,
Grandmotherly with nerves of steel.
Term by term, she gained her own fame.
Across from the nameless Prez seal,
She had her own chair with her name.

As Presidents did come and go,
Helen Thomas in the front row.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Long Live the King (Queen)

Communicated, "It's a boy!"
Young prince, third in line to the throne.
Future of the bundle of joy -
Here's a prediction of my own.
The young prince will grow up to find
He really is a she inside.
'Twill be normal in humankind
To go from one to other side.
Buckingham Palace will announce
The change in line up, so to speak.
Public okay by most accounts.
Just the latest monarchy tweak.

Birth of a monarch - spread the word,
Born, Queen Elizabeth the Third.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Tapped Out

Americans waste water more,
While other folks get water less.
We the People expect the pour
Of clean water plenty - oh yes!
Prince George's County near D.C.
Is getting a taste of how tiz.
A pipeline problem there there be.
Shut off is part of fix it biz.
An inconvenience for a time,
That's hyped up on national news.
Then back to water wasting crime,
The way most Americans choose,

D.C. folks - if water's without,
Just huff and puff and use their clout.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman

I watched you sometimes on T.V.
Parents wanting to be there for
A son, innocent or guilty,
Whose life was changed forevermore.
Acts of children, parents react.
Often emotion floods the time,
When there is not enough known fact,
Tragic mistake or maliced crime?
Together, both of you displayed
A sense of holding family,
Scales of justice, however weighed,
Together you would always be.

Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman,
I pray for you and for your son.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Over Cover

The Rolling Stone catches no moss,
But catches a lot of "bleep" for
Having on its cover in gloss
A face that most folk do deplore.
The accused Boston bomber lad,
Cute and sexy like a rock star.
How could that face do oh so bad?
Does the glam cover go too far?
Some do say yes, some do say no.
That's capitalism, it is,
Teamed blood and sex sells - doncha know!
Covers are in the profit biz.

The cover is the first we see,
And always should scream out, "Buy me!"

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Fried?

A cooking journey, leg by leg.
Make batter in a mixing bowl.
Flour, baking soda and egg,
Mixed with water in complete whole.
Let sit, and some veggie oil heat.
Trim up the meat, singe any hair.
Into the batter, dip the meat.
Into the oil, dip the meat there.
Spread eagled so as not to clump,
Until a lightly browned hor d'oeuvre.
Pull out and let drain the cooked lump.
Sprinkle with papricka and serve.

What's this? Will anybody guess?
A deep fried tarantula - yes!

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Profile of Young Black Men

Young black men in the U.S.A.
Are profiled by society,
Just because they are born that way.
It always was, always will be.
Young black men commit lots of crime.
Lots of young black men go to jail.
This never changes over time.
Why does society still fail
To put this problem on the mend?
This nation's gotten stuck on race.
Profiling is means to no end,
Reminder that young black men face.

The profiling of young black men,
Always will be game in the skin.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Flatworm Beheaded

When humans found us flatworms can
Lose our head, then grow it back.
All kinds of experiments began.
So many on me - I've lost track
The latest - getting me to go
Into the light, which I avoid.
Predators see me - doncha know!
Humans stuck food there I enjoyed.
I think, okay. They chop my head.
Two weeks later, a new head grew.
I went to the light to get fed.
It was food and safe. I just knew!

I remember food, but don't ask me
When's my wedding anniversary.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bushman - LP Zoo

He came to the Lincoln Park Zoo,
38 pounds and two years old,
A gorilla destined to do
A starring role, by grabbing hold
Of hearts of humans all worldwide.
Got bigger size and fame than folk.
1951, Bushman died.
His heart stopped and human hearts broke.
22 years was not enough.
Bushman, Chicago would not yield.
Skilled taxidermists did their stuff.
Bushman still resides at the Field.

Bushman's glory will ever last.
He's a Zooper blast from Zoo past.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Cuke

A cucumber veggie am I.
I'm often called just cuke for short.
Sliced into many salads - why?
Humans find me a tasty sort.
My yellow five petaled flowers
Depend mainly on bees to tote
Back and forth my pollen showers,
From he to she - I'm both, please note,
Monoecious, a fancy word.
Intimacy is hard to bring.
Having beetween is my preferred.
Bees know how to do our thing.

Bees help my he/she intercourse,
To cuke-ulate with no divorce.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Bieb's Boo Boo

The Biebs goes to the locker room
Of the victorious Blackhawks.
The Stanley Cup is in this womb
Of sporty cheers from crowing cocks.
The visage of Blackhawk, great chief,
Symbol of the Chicago team
Watches the Biebs in hanging brief,
Touch the Cup as so many dream.
And of course the Biebs snaps some pix.
A hockey fan, he really is,
Like a stick player swarmed by chicks.
All in all, it is all show biz.

The Hawk's symbol on its floored place.
The Bieb's sneakers stepped in its face.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Ponies - LP Zoo

Hey, hey, hey - we're the ponies three,
Mr Burns, Smithers, Li'l Red.
In our bach pasture we be.
Always make time for getting fed.
A pony's not a baby horse,
Just some smaller in height and weight.
We're mature male adults, of course,
With dreams of ponyettes to mate.
We're not the petting, riding sort,
Other pony places places for that.
We are on show showmen, in short,
Right here in the farm habitat.

Three ponies at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Hay, hay, hay and away we chew.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Ms. Take

All women, beware those Ms. who
Flap their lips about womens' rights,
And always trying to sell you
A book on how she suffers slights.
Yes, judge the men who talk and act
Not in the way you think they should.
But please keep in mind the fact
Not ev'ry woman's for your good.
A woman's body ever be
A legal. moral battleground.
Make more mad, make more money
And to that goal, some she's are bound.

Savvy woman - your voice, your vote,
And your buying the stuff she wrote.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

She Tail Detail

I'll be a monkey's mom, I'll be.
He's just useful to put seed in.
Matriarchal society,
Us gals should run the show - amen!
I've heard humans study my kind,
And do their charts and graphs and stuff,
And fancy formulate to find
That we can rig the game enough,
So she's far outnumber the he's,
To best assure that she's will rule.
My family tree of monkeys,
And carry on this good gene pool.

A Francois' langur, humans call
Me. Named for some French DUDE! What gall!