Sense Sonnet - Acher

Miss Ya Fong - LP Zoo

Hiya Fong, favorite sun bear.
We really miss you, yes we do.
The bear line's gone - no longer there,
Just a hole at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Penguins are s'posed to take your space.
Powers that be are for the birds,
But they will never take your place.
Hard to bear without you. The word's
Out that you're doing fun and fine
Digging into Hoosier ground.
They're lucky for your sun bear shine.
Shucks, we wish you were still around.

Such fond memories of you, Fong.
You here was right, you gone is wrong.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Rhino Snow Time - LP Zoo

What does a rhino fam'ly do,
During winter in Chicago,
Outside in the Lincoln Park Zoo?
Spend quality time in the snow.
More than a foot of snow to romp.
All together we plow right in,
A crisp refreshing treat to chomp,
Clinging like whiskers to the chin.
Back in Africa, our kind
Don't have the opportunity
For such fam'ly affair to find.
We're lucky to be where we be.

Guess who got made becuz of us -
Frosty the Snow Rhinoceros!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Emerald Starling - LP Zoo

An emerald starling bird I be
Perching out at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Bird House Savannah you can see
The beaut I am, hear songs I do.
Most of my bod - metallic green,
Metallic purple underparts.
Where and when I do make the scene,
I naturally spread fine arts.
To keep up energy, I eat
Food the keepers catch for the day.
A bug in mid air is a treat.
Life here is good - what can I say!

Inside enjoy my fine feather,
No matter the outside weather.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Valentines from Kwan - LP Zoo

I am Kwan and in a quandry,
So many valentines to give,
As hubby and papa I be,
In Lincoln Park Zoo, where we live.
I've got wives three and daughters two,
And another one on the way.
Bahati is very soon due.
Bana gave me Patty - hurray!
Soon followed by Rollie who gave
Me Nayembi - hurray ditto!
Such a great family enclave.
I'm lucky in love - doncha know!

Giving flowers - a heart felt treat.
My gorilla girls love to eat.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Red Panda Phoenix - LP Zoo

Just in time for Valentine's Day,
This red panda guy found a gal
Name of Leafa, who came my way
To the Lincoln Park Zoo locale.
As a couple, we were matchmade,
Cupided into one heart red,
Bride and groom in wedding bouqueted,
In bliss and bamboo both are fed.
Leafa will be my valentine.
We hope you all will come to see
Continuing of our line,
With more red pandas soon to be.

Phoenix and Leafa are full of
Lincoln Park Zoo matchmade true love.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Red Panda Leafa - LP Zoo

Just in time for Valentine's Day,
This red panda gal found a guy,
Name of Phoenix, who came my way
To the Lincoln Park Zoo nearby.
As a couple, we were matchmade,
Cupided into one heart red,
Bride and groom in wedding bouqueted
In bliss and bamboo both are fed.
Phoenix will be my valentine.
We hope you all will come to see
Continuing of our line
With more red pandas soon to be.

Leafa and Phoenix are full of
Lincoln Park Zoo matchmade true love.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Snow Monkey Heaven - LP Zoo

Called snow monkeys - can you guess why?
Cuz we are monkeys and love snow,
And we just got a fresh supply
At Lincoln Park Zoo - doncha know!
From tree limb to tree limb we jump,
Sure of foot and hand we grip.
Flashes of red face and red rump
Against snow white - we never slip.
In the habitat we do romp,
Through all the winter wonderland,
Digging up treats on which to chomp,
And energy boost - understand!

Come watch us close, and when you do,
We're gonna throw snowballs at you.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Eurasian Lynx Sisters - LP Zoo

Eurasian lynxes, sisters two,
Jillian and Mirka at home,
Hanging out at Lincoln Park Zoo.
South of the Lion House we roam.
We love to frolic in the snow,
Moving on paws built like snowshoes.
We're good looking gals - doncha know!
And watching humans does amuse.
Young Taza, snow leopard, next door,
We compare notes checking him out,
And tease him as we prowl and roar.
We flirt like a cougar, no doubt!

How to tell us sisters apart?
You could count black spots for a start.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Nationwide - Wrong Time and Place

Showing a public safety ad
Involving the death of a child
By accident, is now deemed bad.
Super Bowl watchers do get riled
When subject heavy does bring down
The party atmosphere of fun.
The viewing smile is turned to frown.
A Nationwide downer be done.
The p.r. fallout won't be good.
No shareholders have in the past
Been flounted in insurancehood,
So maybe the top brass will last.

Dead children are reality.
A Super Bowl ad need not be.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Flying Carpet of Solomon

King Solomon was said to fly
On a carpet around the world,
Sixty miles long and wide, sent high
Upon the winds, it's silks unfurled.
And the carpet could fly so fast,
Solomon could leave Israel noon,
Under him, land and oceans passed,
Supper in India - so soon.
Armies with horses could transport
To wherever Solomon chose.
Or a vehicle used to court
The Queen of Sheba - rumor goes.

How could Solomon make this be?
Could have been an ancient E.T.!

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Gov Targets

J. Edgar Hoover - F.B.I.
For decades was power supreme.
The "hero" getting the "bad guy,"
Part of the American Dream.
The case of Martin Luther King,
Branded enemy of the State.
Hoover worked overtime to bring
Leader King to a traitor's fate.
The killing of King brought an end
To Hoover's obsession to make
King into a bad commie friend.
Abuse of power - gov can take.

We the People must not forget
Powers that be are corrupt yet.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Red Billed Hornbill - LP Zoo

I am a red billed hornbill bird,
With billing at Lincoln Park Zoo.
I come from Africa I've heard.
Munch on plants and insects I do.
Named for my long and curved red bill.
My head and underparts be white,
Wings and long tail with a gray fill.
I stand about a foot in height.
A tree hole in the preferred place,
To lay three to six white eggs there.
The bill is used to pack the space,
So that new chicks get proper care.

In the Lion King film I be
Zazu - do you remember me?

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Dreaming of a White... - LP Zoo

We snow monkeys arrived last fall,
New home at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
From Japan's mountains we came all,
Hearing Chicago snow storms blew
Awesome from blizzards amply spanned.
Next to humans, we are primates
That thrive in winter wonder land.
Winter came - we endured long waits,
November through January.
The dibs and dabs of snow that fell
Was winter wuss - how could this be?
Lasted like a snow ball in hell.

February - a record snow,
Fifth best blizzard - yay Chicago.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Groundhog Day Again

February second once more,
Calendar sez Groundhog Day tiz.
I, Punxsutawney Phil, show for
A few seconds of pure show biz.
If I see my shadow, folks say
Six more weeks of winter to go.
So humans drag me out this day
From my fancy manmade burrow,
Which has a window. Folks can peep
Into my life the whole year round.
Tales told of me have piled up deep,
Over a century of ground.

Ever life elixir I drink,
Some strawberry Kool-Aid, I think.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Call of the Wild

The Seahawks lose the Super Bowl,
Thanks to a coaching call that cost.
To pass on a one yard to goal,
Decision made and game was lost.
On second down, so why not run?
Twenty five seconds on the clock,
And one timeout to get it done.
Pass - just seconds off the tick tock.
The play had been practiced a lot.
Only an interception would
Mess up the winning touchdown sought.
Guess what happened? Not Seahawk good.

A football call made worst of all
Will be dubbed a Darrell Bevel call.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Cuba Conundrum

Cuba ruled by Castro has been
A reminder to the U.S.
That a small player can still win
Against a big in game of chess.
So many pieces sacrificed,
But Cuba can claim a checkmate,
Not to be bullied or enticed
By neighbor, Uncle Sam the Great?
Unlike changing democracy,
Where powers in run hot and cold,
A dictatorship strategy
Is stay the same and power hold.

The Saudi king - dictator same,
Hot with the U.S. - a strange game.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Asian Otter - LP Zoo

I'm an Asian small clawed otter,
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
I'll be playing in the water
At the small mammal house for you.
Small water dweller, I do eat,
Using whiskers to detect prey.
Then with my paws, I grab the meat.
Submerged eight minutes I can stay.
I'm smallest in otter species.
Muddy banks I like to burrow.
My calling card's in my feces -
This is where I'm at, so you'll know.

Come watch me splashing in the drink.
And when I see you, I will wink.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Wolf Critique From Lincoln Park Zoo

As a red wolf I'm safe and sound
At home at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Lots of visitors come around.
As a wolf I feel good - I do.
Watched the Super Bowl recently,
Saw the puppy with the Clydesdales.
Cast as the villain, a wolf be.
The beer ad just fuels such tall tales,
Giving the noble wolf bad press.
Nature makes wolves to hunt for meat.
A wolf is a predator, yes,
But only kills for food to eat.

I watch puppy dogs through the fence.
Clydedales? So far no evidence.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Taza Ta-Da - LP Zoo

I am Taza, as in ta-da,
Snow leopard at Lincoln Park Zoo.
When I got here, first thing I saw
Was lots for a big cat to do.
Still just a lad at one year old,
I prowl around my habitat,
Furred up to weather any cold.
Humans shiver, but not this cat.
In January, T.V. folk
Came in the cold to bother me.
I kind of thought it all a joke,
Available I would not be.

But if you visit - doncha know,
Taza ta-da for you will show.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sahar and Snow - LP Zoo

I am Sahar, the lion who
Is visiting Chicago at
The quite lovely Lincoln Park Zoo,
Quite a seasonal habitat,
Quite dif'rent from Africa where
My kind rarely get to see snow,
Cold, wet, white, blowing in the air,
There on the ground the stuff does go.
Of course, I have to check it out,
And find snow is no fun to eat,
But still a pack of fun - no doubt,
And playing in it is a treat.

A lyin' lion I would be
If I roared snow was not for me.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sahar Turns Five - LP Zoo

I am Sahar, the lion king,
Reigning at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Turning five is an awesome thing,
So humans throw a big to do.
I don't blow candles on a cake.
Instead I smash a fun gazelle.
I know that the thing is a fake,
But humans like it, so oh well!
For me birthdays are no big deal,
But humans like to celebrate.
So I go through motions for real,
Birthday memory to create.

Humans keep me from getting bored.
No lyin' lion - thanks I roared.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Cleo, the Sand Cat - LP Zoo

I am called Cleo, the sand cat,
Purring at the Lincoln Park Zoo,
In the Small Mammal Habitat,
Prob'ly napping - that's what I do.
I have the look of a house pet,
A wee whiskered dainty fur ball.
But my bite force is strongest yet
Of my relative felines all.
African deserts are my home.
My paws are padded extra strong,
Cuz there be many miles  to roam
To hunt for prey the whole night long..

Of regal bearing - that's my style.
I am a queen - there's no denial.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Ricko the Rhino

I am Ricko the rhino who
Is rarely seen being outside,
Here home at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Where keepers keep me occupied
With all the stuff I want and need,
Inside where the public can't see.
This arrangement I like indeed,
Cuz such a bashful boy I be,
Still going through my teenage years.
Maybe some day I'll be inclined
To be a more outgoing sort.
But till then don't expect to find
Me with the public to cavort.

Outside I will roll in the snow,
Still a kid at heart - doncha know.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Caruso Turns 25 - LP Zoo

I'm Caruso with gibbon clan,
Home here at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Many a year I've swung the span
With the Missus and sons, now two.
Often I am sucking my thumb,
Part of my persona mystiqued,
Humans be wondering how come,
So I do it - tongue in white cheeked.
I am a singing, swinging guy.
The keepers keep me stocked with stuff
That I can grab onto and fly.
Show biz - I never get enough.

I sing Happy Birthday to me,
A swinging quarter century.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Project to Bank On

The story of Noah's Ark tells
Of God deciding to redo,
So sends a big flood that dispels
All life, but saves samples of two,
So that not all God's work be wrecked,
But needed tweaking here and there,
Kind of like a science project
That needed tryouts to compare.
At any time God could decide
The Earth project again was due
For errors to be rectified,
Life removed, but samples of two.

The Ark exists, and to be frank
Is really a DNA bank.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Snow Monkey Take One - LP Zoo

I see the camera on me.
I'm on a red carpet of sort,
Being on show - this snow monkey
Hopping in hot springs to cavort
About here in Lincoln Park Zoo,
At the new Macaque habitat,
Where the humans are coming to
Watch snow monkeys do this and that,
Cuz we are stars in the limelight.
Best show in ChiTown that there is.
Humans clamoring for a sight.
That's just the nature of show biz.

C'mon in - the water is fine.
Close up, to let this monkey shine.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Mr. and Mrs. Blyth - LP Zoo

Mr. and Mrs. Blyth hornbill,
A couple at Lincoln Park Zoo.
The Missus henpecks me until
I bring a fig for her to chew.
The Bird House is where we are at.
Just wander down the corridor
To the Deep Forest habitat.
Listen for my song of amor,
Which I do sing when I forgot
Something the Missus did request.
She is such a forget me not,
And sometimes can be such a pest.

I often plead ignorance with
The wife, cuz ignorance is Blyth.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Macaque Debut - LP Zoo

Hi Lincoln Park Zoo - we are here,
Macaque monkey troop from Japan,
To give our snow monkey cheer.
That's what we'll do, cuz that's the plan.
We're reddish in the face and rump.
The rest of us is brownish fur.
We sport a tail that's more a stump.
The troop's a mix of him and her.
We're quite impressed with the new pad,
The human folks built just for us.
The "feels like back home" makes us glad.
And the hot springs is a real plus.

Few months here - we love Chicago.
We do weird weather - doncha know!

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Bo and the Green Lips

The Prez did give an interview
To a gal who bathes in Fruit Loops.
As gifts, she gave green lipsticks to
The First Daughters and First Wife - oops!
Later the Prez did say to me,
"Bo, I am Prez for all of the folk,"
"No matter how kooky they be."
I knew better than bark a joke.
So I just left wagging my tail.
Later, in the White House upstairs,
The First Family I did hail
During one of my nap nightmares.

The weirdest this First Dog has seen,
The First Family - lips all green.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Pahstrel - LP Zoo

Wanted - a good looking old girl,
So I came to Lincoln Park Zoo,
An Amur tigress adding curl.
Instead of one, there  now are two
Tigresses - Pahstrel, that is me.
And then there's Molly - if she's out,
Then I will be inside to see.
Or vice versa. It's all about
You getting some tiger time sure,
If you visit the habitat.
You can see me or can see her,
If you be in or be out at.

How will yo know I am Pahstrel?
Could ask my paws, but they won't tell.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Deflate Gate

Scandal has hit the Super Bowl.
Footballs discovered deflate gate.
Patriots Nixon any role.
Impeachment will not be the fate.
Inappropriate touching of
The balls will be quite hard to show.
The Feds of course will have to gov
All future ball busts - doncha know!
Cuz N.F.L. is balless to
Grab any balls the owners play.
All the N.F.L. wants to do
Is let the ball thing blow away.

Unproved screw up N.F.L. calls.
Unforgettable touchdowned balls.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Sniper

In way back when, 'twas hard to kill
A shorebird that 'twas called a snipe,
And thus the word to fill the bill,
A sniper - a good shot with hype.
A sniper now is good or bad
Depending on the side one's on.
American - debate be had,
Good or bad depending upon
Was it glorious war of old
That's glamorized by Hollywood.
War fought for the right we are told.
More recent wars - hmmmm, not so good.

Sniper now is a killing word.
Nothing to do with any bird.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Waterbuck - LP Zoo

A waterbuck - am I a deer?
No, because I'm an antelope.
And what's the name of my headgear?
Should it be named an antler? Nope.
The proper name is horn - a pair
Which an antelope does possess.
While antlers are sheddable wear,
Horns are permanent fixtures - yes.
And the horns of a waterbuck
Spiral up and out in graceful art,
But pierce with fateful force when struck,
A lasting message to impart.

Come visit the Lincoln Park Zoo,
And I will wave my horns for you.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Stripes for the Asking

Ever since a human first saw
A zebra, the human has asked
Why the stripes? So far no "ah hah!"
Has come from all the studies tasked.
Hypotheses do make a list:
Maybe stripes do repel insects;
Maybe camoflauge is the gist;
Maybe predators to perplex;
Maybe to reduce body heat;
Maybe to sort out who is who.
The latest study, not concrete,
Keeps blurring the long stripe ado.

Zebras have kept stripes in supply,
So the humans keep asking why.