Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Bo and the "Sorry"

The Prez was miffed and said to me,
"Bo, the dumb Demmies on my ship"
"Are running like rats, scared to be"
"Having to take a one way trip"
"From in to out next election."
"The left is leaving for the right."
I told the Prez what must be done.
Get the teleprompter to write
A "so sorry, I feel your pain."
And make it magic as before,
Fooling Them the People again,
Cuz They are foolable galore.

The POTUS prompter had shut down.
The Prez said "sorry" with a frown.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Croc's Eye - LP Zoo

I'm the eye of the crocodile.
I see you first, then tell the tooth
To get the others in a smile.
A snack approaches - that's the truth.
A scary but beautiful orb.
The pupil stretched from up to down,
To catch the view and then absorb
Behind the ball of golden brown.
The eye sees well in day and night,
And underwater 'neath eyelid.
And when I have you in my sight,
You turn around, or wish you did.

The eye of croc is upon you.
Be very careful what you do.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

"You're Welcome" Pink Slip

Somebody says "Thank you" to me.
"You're welcome," the ingrained reply.
May or may not a welcome be.
Never really pondered the why.
Most "thank yous" are for something quick,
Pick up a drop, open a door.
No time desired for lengthy schtick,
Pop up polite and nothing more.
Some say such back and forth contact
Should take on Golden Rulish feel,
To further praise each polite act,
As important, but no big deal.

So now when someone says, "Thank you."
Maybe I will just say, "You'd do."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Red Panda ADOPT - LP Zoo

Isn't this a face to ADOPT!
Lincoln Park Zoo does want you to.
For cuteness I just can't be topped.
With credit card, here's what you do.
Click, click away on the Website,
Till you find red panda - that's me.
Then do an ADOPT - day or night.
What a happy parent you'll be.
I am a Zoo ambassador,
Helping to conserve my wild bunch.
There's always good work to do more,
After a bamboo break for lunch.

ADOPT me and get a stuffed toy,
Cuz holding real me - no enjoy.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Mrs. Ples

A Plesianthropus was found
In '47 - human skull,
"Mrs. Ples" deemed to be around
Two million years in buried lull.
South Africa, the place of find,
The skull remarkably complete,
In the Cradle of Humankind,
Where bones of old and young do meet.
"Mrs. Ples' continues to be
Probed for the secrets she may hold.
With  more and more technology,
More and more secrets do be told.

The "Mrs." has been but a guess.
Could very well be "Mr. Ples."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Andean Bear - LP Zoo

An Andean bear, this is me.
My spectacles on my dark coat,
Light markings on face and chest be
Wearing glasses look - some bear note.
The Andes Mountains are my home,
From high forests to deserts low.
Bearing losses in lands we roam,
Cuz humans kill us where we go.
We try to escape, climbing trees,
Building platforms to hide and rest.
I got lucky with life of ease,
Being a Lincoln Park Zoo guest.

I am here waiting just for you
To come visit me at the Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Romper Room Flash

For the news media - a must
To saturate the story of
Two fighting kids - a bully bust?
Back and forth is mean push and shove.
What has society become?
Inquiring minds just have to know,
Or otherwise minds just be dumb
To child abuse at levels so.
Thank goodness such news is now out,
Cuz surely a fix will be found
For such bad behavior about,
Thanks to mass bytes of show and sound.

Kids? - two pro football player men,
Crying like brats from their playpen.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Chimply So - LP Zoo

Time to take a little time out
To ponder over all the stuff
That life of a chimp is about.
Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's tough.
But I can't go completely ape
When things aren't going all my way.
Can't go bananas to escape,
When having an Ape-ril Fools day.
I must keep a good ape-titude,
Always look for the choc'late chimps
In the cookies handed this dude.
An ape cot rest time keeps it simp.

So much done, so much left to do.
Ape-erfect at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Hyena Hiya

We hyenas communicate
By bacteria in scent glands,
Letting others sniff each best trait
That a hyena understands.
We pick and choose a grassy site
To leave a personal detail,
Dragging scent pouches day and night
To paste a message in peemail.
Others then can paste in reply,
So we all get to know who's who,
And form communities thereby.
So cool, what hyenas can do!

Our Twitter is by excrete.
We use bacteria to tweet.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Rewhy

I find myself fighting a war,
My leaders told me was for right,
As leaders always say before
Getting us into one more fight.
The enemies we fight today
Were friends of ours in the past,
But power shifts in a strange way.
Both friends and foes - they never last.
I am just one of the young who
Are called by old to take my turn
To give my life in duty to
A reason that I'll never learn.

My Mother's photo in my hand,
Perhaps in death I'll understand.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Charge for Charge

A doctor and a lawyer were
Talking at a party, but got
Interrupted by him and her
For free medical advice sought.
Finally, the doctor did ask
The lawyer what he did about
Such out of office advice task.
"Give it and send them a bill out,"
The lawyer replied. So next day
The doctor sent bills to those
Party inquirers, cuz they should pay,
Which now the doctor really knows.

The doctor gave and got as will.
The lawyer had sent him a bill.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Haiyan

The strongest storm, Haiyan typhoon,
Ever recorded on the Earth,
Across the Phillipines was strewn
Destruction by its force and girth,
Making cousin Katrina small
In comparison to what if
Haiyan had had the wherewithal
To hit New Orleans hard and stiff.
Global climate changers predict
The Haiyan storm ferocity
Will only grow in harm inflict,
Haiyan be small, relatively.

Nature chooses the time and place
To remindset the human race.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

First Hit

Just a matter of time and fate,
That manmade objects now in space
Will strike a human (mark the date),
As such debris falls anyplace.
So far in decades of space flight
And thousands of tons of debris,
No falling stuff has set its sight
On falling down on you or me.
But as populations do grow,
And more and more space stuff does fall,
Odds are a hit on - doncha know!
Some even give bookies a call.

Falling space junk - no act of God.
Some someday will target some bod.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

355 

Known only as a numbered one.
Three five five was a lady spy,
Gave secrets to George Washington
About the British she came by.
A member of the Culper Ring
That operated namelessly,
She worked the Red Coat party swing
As Tory high society.
Benedict Arnold did regret
Falling for her feminine charm.
His treasonous intent he let
Slip to her. She hit the alarm.

Three five five had a role to play -
Lady spy for the U.S.A.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Cactus Mouse - LP Zoo

I am a cactus mouse, I am
A brownish cute little fur ball,
Averaging twenty some gram.
Add my tail and I'm twice as tall.
Distinguished by my naked heels
That help me scurry through the night.
Desert seeds are my fav'rite meals.
Chewing stuff is such a delight.
Lincoln Park Zoo Small Mammal House
Gives me shredded paper for fun.
I chomp it like a crazy mouse,
Paperless after I am done.

Chew and spit it in my own way,
Making sort of paper mouseche.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Hoisted by the Gurnard

I was just swimming in the sea,
By Borneo, minding my biz,
When some angler dude did catch me.
We wondered what each other is.
He'd not seen something like my likes,
Large head, sharp spines and sexy tail,
And from my mouth two tusk like spikes,
A foot long, few pounds on the scale.
A spotted armour gurnard, I
Am called by human fish experts.
I was kept by the fisher guy,
And now am dried beyond life's hurts.

I am stuck mounted on the wall,
Sure no fun for a fish at all.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Olympic Flying Object

The Sochi Olympic torch blasts
Into outer space for a run.
The torch bearing in telecasts
To show the world this first be done.
The symbol of peace is relayed
From astronaut to astronaut,
As history is being made.
From the darkness, a true bright spot.
And then returning to the Earth
To travel to the time and place
For Olympians to bear worth
Of the best of the human race.

Since space fire can take a bad turn,
The Olympic torch does not burn.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Bo and the Ghost of Honest Abe

The Prez comes in and says to me,
"Hey Bo, what are you barking at?"
In the Lincoln Bedroom we be.
A tall dude with a stovepipe hat,
Standing looking out the window,
Scratching his beard in puzzled stare.
Just a bit spooky - doncha know!
But to the Prez - this dude's not there.
The Prez does need a good eye check -
See who is in front of his face.
Can't miss Honest Abe - what the heck!
Honest - how did Abe win a race?

I look - Abe's spirit has moved on,
And so has honesty - doggone!

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Wabbit Pleath

A little girl in a pet shop
Asks the clerk in a lisp so sweet,
"A wittle wabbit with thum hop"
"Ith what I need," she does entreat.
The clerk thinks this is oh so cute,
Smiles and says to the little girl,
"We'll find a bunny that's a beaut,"
"Colorful fur in fluffy curl."
"How about this white bunny here,"
"With whiskers around a pink nose?"
"Or that black bunny with lopped ear?"
"Or a bunny in brown furred clothes?"

"Givth me any color wabbit."
"My pyfon doth not givth a thit!"

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chuckie - LP Zoo

I am Chuckie, the chimpanzee,
She of a troop of gals and guys.
Not so big and so strong I be,
So I have to be extra wise.
The humans say I innovate,
Cuz rather than fighting the crowd
For tasty treats that could be ate,
I check other options allowed.
The humans like to play the game
Of go behind another door,
So the routine is not the same.
It seems humans have games galore.

I'm home at the Lincoln Park Zoo,
And innovating's what I do.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Joy Run

For Joy it was a joy to run.
"I want to die running," she'd said.
One more marathon she had done,
And a day later, Joy was dead.
The New York City Marathon,
The 25th race she had made.
After, with medal, Joy went on
The Today show to accolade.
The former Minnesota girl
Who started running on a farm,
And through the years her toes did curl
Around a running life of charm.

She ran her last race in her prime,
Eighty six years old, in Joy time.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Day of the Bison

It is National Bison Day,
Something good from fed politics.
When Lewis and Clark made their way
Across the land, eighteen oh six,
Millions of bison roamed great plains,
With mighty rivers 'twixt and 'tween.
Bison flowed and roared as swept rains,
A wonder to be heard and seen.
But after Lewis and Clark, came
The white hunters who only sought
To kill bison for sport and game.
And soon the bison - they were not.

From past mistakes, can humans learn?
Today, slowly bison return.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Davison Navar Henry

Davison Navar Henry seeks
To be adopted by someone.
He gets up the courage and speaks,
Asking if he can be a son.
His whole life spent in foster care,
Fifteen years going place to place,
No for sure family to share,
Just a number, another case.
His heartfelt plea brings hope to light
That adopted soon he will be.
So many children share his plight.
Each child should have a family.

Davison Navar Henry, thank you
For your courage and for others too,

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Little Brown Bat - LP Zoo

A little brown bat is my name.
I'm little. I'm brown. I'm a bat.
No one really disputes that claim.
North America's where I'm at,
Insectivore, bugs I do eat.
I echolocate to find prey.
My ears can hear a tasty treat.
Then back to the roost where I stay
Spring, summer and fall I change roost
From day and night, early and late.
Then find a spot in sleep induced,
During winter, I hibernate.

Visit me at Lincoln Park Zoo.
May or may not awake for you.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Maku, Dad Divide - LP Zoo

I am Maku, a hands off Dad
Of son, King, cuz with black rhinos
Males in rearing roles would be bad.
That's just the way that nature goes.
So Mom, Kapuki, is with King
In their own habitat next door.
Curiosity is my thing.
If I stretch, I can just peek o'er.
I know babies are cute and all,
But lots of time, no kid to see.
Visitors hopes and dreams do fall.
I wanna yell, "Come look at me!"

So if you're at Lincoln Park Zoo,
I do a big baby - I do!

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Myth of Chupacabra

The chupacabra got its name
From humans who did swear they'd seen
A spiny creature with the fame
As killing, blood sucking machine.
The "monster" humans think they see,
Running wild in the countryside,
Are animals hurt and sickly,
Last gasps of living till they died.
The real monsters are human kind,
Don't look so scary till too late.
These are the monsters of a mind
To make a life sucked away fate.

A chupacabra - what it be?
A sick and mangy coyote.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

News Zeal

Horse carriage rides in NYC,
Sentimental romantic stuff,
But danger to the horses be,
Cuz humans can't get smart enough.
"Zealots," decries the New York Times,
Those who want to stop such abuse.
Anti horse carriage - heinous crimes
To keep the tourists from such use.
Maybe the Times remembers back
To the times when it was the know.
Horse and buggies were the main track.
Maybe the Times just can't let go.

Media now just wheel and deal.
We need respect all life with zeal.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Papa Bear - LP Zoo

I'm Papa bear. It's my birthday,
26 years been on the prowl.
Humans made a beehive display.
They try hard. I try not to growl.
Covered the hive with honey goo,
And some tasty munchies inside,
A big fake bee stuck on with glue,
Spooked me a bit till amply eyed.
I posed a bit for human sake.
Humans do love their gadgetry.
A few pictures I let them take,
Then turned that hive to history.

You can come take your pictures too.
I'm posed at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Solomon Northrup

Solomon Northrup was born free,
Grew up playing the violin,
Got kidnapped into slavery,
Twelve years away from loving kin,
Who found Solomon and worked to
Restore him to his life by right.
A lucky one - and there were few.
As black, he could not sue a white.
He wrote a book about his times,
And travelled in the north U.S.
Fighting against slavery crimes,
A little, but not much success.

Enslaved again? The worst was feared.
Solomon Northrup disappeared.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sophia - LP Zoo

I am Sophia, bird of prey,
A cinereous vulture kind.
Born by the Lincoln Park Zoo way,
Hatched by humans - but I don't mind.
Then humans had to rear me till
I was strong enough on my own.
A hand puppet with a big bill
And eyes and head was my "Mom" clone,
Using tweezers to give me eats.
Then, I didn't know what I ate.
Now, I know rats are tasty treats.
A healthy white chick, thanks to fate.

Now I'm gothically grown dark,
Home at the Zoo in Lincoln Park.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Wed Woe

The Wifey was fit to be tied.
The Hubby forgot her birthday.
She yelled, "Don't you dare try to hide."
"By tomorrow, in the driveway,"
"There'd better be a gift that goes"
"From zero to 200, and"
"In 6 seconds, flat on the nose."
Hubby said he did understand.
Next morning Wifey sees a box
In the driveway, but small detail!
She opens it, eyes wide in shocks.
Inside she finds a bathroom scale.

The Wifey doesn't really speak.
The Hubby's been missing a week.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bo and the LGBT

The Prez asked me in for advice,
"Bo, what about LGBT?"
"Another evolve might be nice."
"They can be fired for who they be?"
I told the Prez folks should be fired
For what they do, not who they are,
Words that did get the Prez inspired
To get an LGBT czar.
I counselled no, just do his best
To talk and write to make his case.
His underlings can do the rest,
Where no firings ever take place.

Next in the Prez wish catalog -
Can't be fired for being a dog.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sounds of Cetaceans

The clicks, the whistles, the pulsed calls,
The groans, the moans, the complex songs.
Cetaceans have the wherewithals
To message by their call-a-longs.
Dolphins and porpoises and whales
Depend on underwater sounds
For where to navigate details,
Locating where feeding abounds.
They socialize like families.
It is their dialects that bind,
Shooting the underwater breeze.
No good to say for humankind.

Cetaceans have something to say.
Humans may understand some day.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Anana, Diving Diva - LP Zoo

I'm training for the Olympics.
Nobody takes a dive like me.
Just a couple of artful kicks,
And I am airborne destiny.
Ev'ry dive is a grrfect score.
A shooin for gold medalist,
Cheered on by all my fans galore,
As my bod does each turn and twist.
Cannonballing is not my style.
I like my paws spread out wide all,
And hit that pool, a pretty pile.
I call it my polar bear ball.

A big splash at Lincoln Park Zoo,
I am Anana - dipsy do.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Crowned Lemur - LP Zoo

I am Sokkwi, a crowned lemur,
With wife Tucker, we have two sons,
Nuru and Azizi, and sure
Are happy that we were the ones
Chosen for the Lincoln Park Zoo.
From Madagascar we do come.
Primates coming thumbs up, we do
Love this neighborhood - rule of thumb.
Plant eaters, a 20 year life,
We stick out with an oranged crown,
Closely knit and led by the wife.
In the neighborhood? Come on down!

Come to our new home to see
One happy lemur family.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Bo and the Merkel Flap

The Prez got off the phone and said,
"Bo, those Germans sure have no sense"
"Of humor, but get mad instead,"
"That eavedropping's a consequence"
"Of being a U.S. ally."
"The Chancellor thinks her cell phone"
"Is not fair game for us to pry."
"Of course I told her, in feigned tone -"
"U.S. - a bugger - of course not."
"She did not buy it." the Prez shrugged.
Out to the Rose Garden I shot,
To check if my cell phone was bugged.

The Prez said Chancellor Merkel
Went absolutely berserkel.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Kenya Crested Guineafowl - LP Zoo

A Kenya Crested Guineafowl,
A lot of birdwatching I do.
From Africa I come to prowl
The wonders of Lincoln Park Zoo.
Seeds and insects are a delight
To feed my colorful beaked face.
Darkish plumage with spots of white,
But all a blur when I give chase.
The mopped curly feathered crest,
I say off the top of my head,
Is the fine feature I like best.
Nobody has such locks of dread.

Start a bird band. I've heard the talk.
I must admit that I do rock.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

HUDeous

Housing Urban Development
First agreed that hearing impaired
Had special needs as resident,
So okayed a complex, and shared
In the funding of such housing.
Fast forward a few years hence,
And suddenly HUD goes deafening
To the why for the residence,
Proclaiming a discriminate
That the hearing don't have enough
Units therein to occupate.
"Shut down," HUD does huff and puff.

The initials that spell out HUD
Really stand for How Utter Dud.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Strix the Crooner

A new owl found in Oman,
Strix omanensis - maybe name.
Found by humans who get it on
With bird listening as the aim.
The first time the Strix song was heard,
The tune, familiar yet unique.
Humans just had to see this bird
That sang this song from neath its beak.
And so the humans patiently,
Like paparazzi, lurked at night,
Till the elusive owl did be
A combo in sound and in sight.

Halloweenish - all orangy eyed,
The owl sings, "Here comes the bride."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Fong - LP Zoo

I am the sun bear catching rays,
Ever sunning to stay bear buff.
Actually, I've a bright furred blaze
On my chest, and so the sun stuff.
From Southeast Asia bears my bears.
Long sharp claws and teeth for to munch
Varied flora and fauna wares,
But honey is my fav'rite lunch.
Often sleep but don't hybernate.
I snooze mostly during the day.
For naps a hollow log is great,
Dreams of honey - what can I say!

I hang out in the Lincoln Park Zoo,
Every day and Sunday too.