Sense Sonnet - Acher

Use the Young

It turns out people are like ants.
The ruling elite make the rules,
Like when a flood happens by chance.
Rafts are built out of living tools.
The younger ants are forced to make
Up the raft's bottom, layers thick.
They're more buoyant for floating's sake,
More apt to survive - they're the pick.
Of course the queen and her elite
Have dibs on the raft's safest spot.
The costs and the benefits meet.
The older have, younger have not.

The young must pay for old to be,
Just like Social Security.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Jerboa

I met a jerboa aleap,
In the North African desert.
The wee rodent was cute a heap,
Zigzagging o'er the sand and dirt,
With long hind legs and a long tail
To help it balance in its hop.
Body of fur toned sandy pale
To better blend into back drop.
But it did not escape my eye,
And I chased after it in zeal.
It got mad, jumped at me, so I
Did run the other way, for real.

How high did the jerboa jump?
Jumped high enough to bite my rump.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Flying Snake

The humans spot a UFO,
Turns out to be a flying snake -
Paradise tree snake - doncha know?
A flying saucer shape we make.
We belly scale way up a tree,
Decide to where we want to fly,
Safer in air travel we be,
To go from tree to tree by sky.
Suck in tummy, flatten out bod,
Then thrusting out, up and away,
An undulating shooting wad,
Optimal air pressure at play.

We snakes know the humans are there,
Awed by us flying through the air.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Bo and the IRS File

The Prez was really miffed at me.
He scolded, "Bo, what's this I hear?"
"The IRS got your form, 'T'"
"And wanted my okay to clear"
"You as a non conservative."
"Bo, I can't chance a smidgon of"
"Corruption that your con might make."
"Though boneheads are throughout big gov,"
"Not that bone kind, for chewing's sake."

"Bad enough filing 'T' alone"
"But even worse filing 'T' bone"

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Tiger Lite - LP Zoo

What is big and striped and bouncy?
A tiger on a pogo stick.
A tiger crossed with snowman be?
A combo giving frostbite quick.
What is striped and goes round and round?
A tiger in revolving door.
Which side are tiger stripes most found?
A few inside, but outside more.
Cross tiger, kangaroo and sheep?
A striped hopping sweater you've got.
What tiger name's silly a heap?
Obviously, that name is Spot.

Tiger, Molly, tells jokes - she do,
Ev'ry day at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe born in '64,
Conceived by a soldier who did
Combat in the Korean War.
At last a doll for the guy kid.
A twelve inch action figure who
Had moveable parts to attack,
Downing "enemies" with kung fu,
Then still, as the kid got a snack.
The Vietnam war came along
And killed the G.I. Joe sales.
The right of soldiering turned wrong
When Government Issued war fails.

Happy 50th - G.I. Joe.
We keep playing war - doncha know!

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

By Deeds Not Words

True conservative President!
Some pundits like to tell us that
Ronald Reagan was such a gent.
Oh, he could talk conservie chat.
Big gov got bigger in his terms.
GDPwise he did spend more,
A record, history affirms
For stuff that did not include war.
Sure, he cut taxes, but instead
Funded entitlements by debt.
Illegals' amnesty he spread.
What true conserving did he get?

A true conservative as Prez,
Reagan was not - his record says.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Ms Echidna

As a female echidna, I
Sometimes feel that nature gave me
A heap of burdens to get by.
An egg laying mammal I be.
I burrow in to hybernate.
Some one night stand male does sneak in,
Takes off, leaving me impregnate.
A few weeks, I lay an egg, then
A few weeks, babe "puggle" does hatch.
A few weeks more, make milk to feed,
Not from nipples, but from "milk patch"
From my pouch to fill "puggles" need.

For those who think my life is fun,
This momma's work is never done.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

AA - Life and Death

Recovering alcoholic,
Mike is in prayer on his knees.
A question suddenly does click,
So Mike asks God to tell him please,
That since in life AA's so good,
Is there AA in heaven too?
If yes, just knowing that sure would
Make Mike more serene that he knew.
Mike waited hopeful for reply.
Suddenly a light filled the room.
Conscious contact was in supply.
And then a great deep voice did boom,

"The good news - AA's in heaven - right!"
"The bad news, Mike - you're speaking tonight."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

The Kwan Touch - LP Zoo

Sometimes I say to myself, "Kwan,"
"Humans do need a guiding hand"
"To help them better evolve on."
A gorilla can understand
The human need to pry into
The mysteries of all on Earth.
So here at the Lincoln Park Zoo,
I make humans feel they have worth.
Humans worship hi tech and so
I awe them on their test touch screen,
Sequencing marvel - doncha know!
One super natural machine.

A calculating whiz am I.
Humans are fun to Kwantify.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Same Old New Century

Twenty first century so far,
The U.S. has done nothing more
Than bring home dead and living scar
As the result of constant war.
We the People have gotten numb
To the whims of powers that be,
Making decisions that are dumb,
Squandering brave in land less free.
"National security" is
The catchall excuse, now quite lame,
For government to do bad biz.
We let it happen - that's the shame.

Young men and women sent to fight
Old fools' wars - this is just not right.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Year of the Horse

Two thousand fourteen is the year
Of the horse so say the Chinese.
But worldwide fortunetellers gear
Up to sell humans on foresees.
Year start, the humans celebrate,
Doing party stuff humans do.
Some really believing their fate
Rides with horses - destiny to.
But humans and horses don't run
With the same purpose of the race.
Horses sense when a race is done,
While humans just aimlessly chase.

The one who could care less, of course,
About this year of is the horse.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

High Buzz

How high can a bumblebee fly?
Nosy humans had to inquire.
So with a net, they grabbed me. Why?
To experiment, to my ire.
They stuck me in some see through thing,
Reduced the pressure of the air,
And so I wider arched each wing,
Trying to fly me outta there.
And so impressed the humans got,
Said that Mt. Everest could be
Conquered by yours truly. Or not,
If that test is left up to me.

Mt. Everest - the top, why go?
No flowers grow there - doncha know!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sniffin' at LP Zoo

A bear like me has super smell.
My sniff leads me to where to dig.
Even under snow I can tell
If I should undertake the gig.
Now snow can cover up the scent
For those with ordinary nose.
But for me, winter does present
Opportunities ala froze.
Human helpers do humor me
By hiding goodies in my space.
Then they leave me alone to be
Digging up with my paws and face.

Snow buried at Lincoln Park Zoo,
I smell a yum yum - yes I do.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sahar the Hunk - LP Zoo

When I got to Lincoln Park Zoo,
I was a cub, lean and scraggly.
But now my fourth birthday I do
Be a lion king - yes I be.
I arrived on a bad hair day
That just stayed bad for quite a spell.
But time turned me in a good way,
And I came out of my shy shell.
Four hundred pounds of sculpted brawn,
A coat of gold, a royal mane,
A masterpiece to gaze upon,
As I survey my realm I reign.

Sahar - Happy Birthday to me.
Oh what a handsome dude I be.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Fiddlers in D.C.

The State of the Union speech is
Gathering of powers that be,
Not so much about Union biz,
As biz of the bubble D.C.
Do handshakes and hugs and kisses
And empty words of making nice,
While minds are thinking pure disses,
While tiptoeing through fire and ice.
The party folks all play the game,
Lying and sucking up a gob.
Be in cuz be out - what a shame!
And having to get a real job.

No matter how the Union's gone,
The D.C. party still goes on.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Play for Keeps

A black eyed squid met an owl fish.
The squid was looking for some lunch,
Its tentacles in twirling swish
Grabbed onto the owlfish a bunch.
The owlfish knew it had a chance,
When first it felt the squid attack,
By sloughing off scales in their dance,
And darting off in a fast track.
But the squid with big eyes and beaks,
Surgically cut the spinal cord
Of the owlfish - its future bleak.
Owlfish - zero, squid - one was scored.

The black eyed squid did have its way.
The owlfish was catch of the day.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Climber - LP Zoo

King Kong of New York City fame.
The Empire State Building was where
He did become a household name.
Chicago has high in the air
That's seen from the Lincoln Park Zoo.
There's the Willis Tower nee Sears,
John Hancock and Trump Tower too.
But such heights do give me some fears.
I do want to be called a King,
A bachelor gorilla's dream.
So what to climb to do my thing -
Chicago's got it, it would seem.

I'm skipping the tall building scene,
Will make my name climbing the "Bean."

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Bo and the Pen and the Phone

The Oval Office - I stopped by.
The Prez was holding pen and phone.
He said, "Bo, I just don't know why"
"I have to do this all alone."
"Exec orders to call and sign."
"To do stuff the people don't need,"
"The legacy that will be mine -"
"I did it my way - yes indeed."
The Prez put down the phone and pen,
And picked up his putter instead.
He was ignoring me again,
So I got back into his head.

The Prez called me a naughty pup.
His pen and phone - I chewed 'em up.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

How to Build an Ark

An ancient tablet has been found -
How to build an ark that could float
In a great flood that was sent round.
Few lived by not missing the boat.
Circular in design, the ark,
Which would make it harder to sink.
Plans for animals to embark,
Each kind in a two by two link.
The tablet now is on display
In a museum, where it is billed
As most important in the way
That ancient humans were so skilled.

Is this the Noah's Ark of fame?
"Hell, yes!" Noah's daughter does claim.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Big on Milk - LP Zoo

I am the rhino babe called King.
I am only a few months old,
And more and more I do my thing,
Most often it is what I'm told
By Momma, cuz I love her so,
And cuz she makes the milk I drink.
I am a good son - doncha know!
Each month I've gained a hundred pounds.
At this rate I'll outgrow King Kong.
Is that as crazy as it sounds?
I guess we'll know before too long.

By Momma's milk - oh how I grew,
Still growing at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Functional Family - LP Zoo

Remind one of the Cleavers - right?
June, Ward and Wally and the Beav,
When sitcoms were just clean delight,
Good values in which to believe.
Functional family to know,
Well guess what - this foursome is such.
Mom, Burma, and Dad, Caruso,
Have the perfect parenting touch -
Babe bro, Daxin, and big bro, Sai.
View in living color each day,
As back and forth be swinging by,
In a fun entertainment way.

We are the Gibbon family.
Lincoln Park Zoo is where we be.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

"Aah" Ad

A pup is born on a horse farm.
A horse becomes the pup's best friend,
A match filled with a bunch of charm.
But then comes time for it to end.
Humans come drive the pup away,
To be a human pet somewhere.
The pup's so sad that it can't stay
With the horse - they made a great pair.
The galloping horse does its part,
Stopping the driven truck pickup.
The humans have a change of heart.
Back down the road comes horse and pup.

So does the pup stay with the horse?
The T.V. beer ad says, "Of course!"

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Hail Hil

The libbies are gonna anoint
Hillary as the promised one.
They know her nose is out of joint
For getting B.O. - but that's done.
So if Hillary just lays low,
And does not say or do a mess,
She's a sure shoo-in, doncha know!
Cuz libbies really are clueless.
And the Repubbies - no surprise,
Will screw a win into a loss,
As the media glorifies
Hillary risen from the cross.

Hillary will make the Prez scene,
The savior in twenty sixteen.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Omaha Calling

"Omaha" - a quarterback yell,
An audible to change the play,
Rest of the team is s'posed to gel
And do the down another way.
The Native American tribe,
Omaha, was source of the name,
But football call? - hard to ascribe,
Omaha did not play the game.
Native Americans should not
Be offended at such a call,
Not a negative slurring blot,
But a positive in football.

Washington Redskins - not p.c.
Washington Omaha? - Could be!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Cedar Sculpin

The humans just discovered me,
A cedar sculpin fish - plain, or
Cottus schitsu'umsh - fancy!
Found me! - heck I was here before.
I'm in and around Idaho,
See the red cedars from the stream,
Watching out for trout - doncha know.
As a snack, I am a trout's dream.
Up to four inches from my tail
To my relatively big head.
Got a mottled and gripping scale
To anchor in the water bed.

Being discovered was not fun,
A dissection had to be done.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Herbert Yardley

Herbert Yardley, cryptologist,
Breaking foreign government codes,
Then wrote a tell all book - the gist,
Embarassing the U.S. loads.
This was pre Espionage Act,
Amending to make such a crime.
Yardley profited - that's a fact,
Until a stroke ended his time,
Which was before the NSA,
And harsh treatment of tattletales.
One wonders what Yardley would say
Of Edward Snowden's tell travails!

Yardley's told secrets brought no shame.
He's in NSA's Hall of Fame.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

King Cuomo the Intolerant

Extreme conservatives - right far,
King Cuomo banishes from
New York - not who New Yorkers are
In King Cuomo's libbie kingdom.
Right to life, pro assault weapon,
Anti gay - though legal rights held,
Such New York holders do step on
King Cuomo and must be expelled.
Common sense for the common folk,
King Cuomo's edict - doncha know!
If only just a royal joke.
Hope voters will make the king go.

Conservatives in the extreme,
We're messing up King Cuomo's scheme.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Web Shot

"Welcome to my mobile parlor,"
Did say the spider to the fly,
Then did something quite bizarre, sure,
Slung out its web into the sky.
It seems the spider web is spun,
Then stretched back, onto a plant hooked,
Prey approaches, release is done,
Unwitting guest, the fly is schnooked.
No doubt the fly was quite surprised,
Suddenly stuck in sticky bunch,
And soon to know that it comprised
The main course for the spider's lunch.

Along came a spider that's got
A web parlor that's a sling shot.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Cosmic Web

The Cosmic Web, its strands stretch 'tween
The universe voids light years wide.
Earth astronomers now have seen
Glimpse of the Web, and verified
Gigantic filaments of gas,
Holding cocooned the galaxies
Strung about the cosmos in mass,
Like spiders spinning mysteries.
The more we see the more we know
The wonders of the universe.
Searching the Cosmic Web we go
To connect for better or worse.

The Web through telescopes we look,
Searching for Twitter and Facebook.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Bad Law

Roe v Wade - the Supreme Court did,
As wannabe King Solomon,
Hear the debate, and then to rid
The deep divide, ordered be done
Abortions by arithmetic,
Later by viability -
Once outside can the baby kick!
This was back in '73,
A million lives are lost each year.
How many more lives must we lose,
Until the high Court makes it clear,
The right to life - others don't choose!

Roe v Wade - when nine old white men
Made abortion a legal sin.