Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Pumpkin Play - LP Zoo

The thing's a pumpkin, keepers say.
They call it enrichment, they do.
Pumpkins are on my pile of hay,
For me at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
This rhino knows my keepers try
To keep me on my hooved three toes.
This pumpkin thing - I don't know why.
But that's the way the Zoo life goes.
So I will humor humans and
Pretend to play the pumpkin game.
And I will play it oh so grand.
So at a pumpkin, I take aim.

How many rhinos say they've worn
A pumpkin gored upon the horn?

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Patty is 4 - LP Zoo

Birthday time at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Another year for Patty girl.
Older and wiser Patty grew.
On that sweet face, her smile does curl,
Thinking of all her family,
Mom and Dad and two sisters all,
Together living so to be
Serving the better - nature's call,
To help the humans find their way,
As visitors do come and go,
Watching Patty watch ev'ry day,
As Patty continues to grow.

Go gorilla girl - Patty cake,
For B'Day 4, Patty does make.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Nat Turner's Turn

Nat Turner was a preacher slave
In the year eighteen thirty one.
Prophetic visions to him gave
The message that battle be done.
Through the Virginia countryside,
He led black slaves on killing spree.
At least fifty five white folk died
For Nat Turner's dream to be free.
Caught and hanged for his killing crime,
His tanned skin sold as souvenir,
A footnote in history time.
Nat Turner's dream would reappear.

Through centuries in U.S.A.
Nat Turner turns up ev'ry day.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Sharkathon

A shark attack is always news
Whenever some poor human bleeds.
All the better if there are views
Giving the media prime leads.
The randomness of such attack
Has led to a new industry.
There is incentive to keep track
Of where unsuspecting sharks may be.
Then with cages, divers and bait,
Lure the sharks where video is,
And hope to scoop a bloody fate
'Tween shark and human - great show biz!

The sharks will pay the price because
Humans cannot get enough Jaws.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Stick It to Me

Trick or treating on Halloween,
Along a path I walked at night.
By moonlight came an eerie scene.
A moving stick came into sight.
Gosh, it was two feet long at least,
Crawling on lots of leg like twigs.
What was the weird rock and roll beast,
Stalking me in its zags and zigs?
Later I learned that I had met
A stick insect minding its biz,
A harmless bug - no need to fret.
But I was sure spooked out - gee whiz!

I was scared stiff and that was plain.
Guess I felt like Stickabod Crane.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Grand Opening - LP Zoo

"What's up?" the penguins ask, they do.
Ribbon cutting ceremony
By the folks at Lincoln Park Zoo.
In the rain, a wet crowd there be.
The ribbon's cut to open grand,
We African penguin's new home.
For us start up 12 member band,
We'll watch the folks just outside roam,
As we go 'bout the biz of show,
Under water and on land dry.
The folks do love us - doncha know!
We make folks happy - so drop by.

Done with the ribbon cutting fuss,
C'mon folks - attention on us.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chimpchronize - LP Zoo

The Chimp Rockettes do synchronize
A dreamland dance of snooze, they do.
The girls put all nap nest supplies
In sight sync at Lincoln Park Zoo.
A 'jama party for the she's,
Caught on camera overhead.
The gals' night out without the he's.
A perfect score for make a bed.
For sure some girl talk 'twixt and 'tween.
As on candid camera, they
Set forth their own artistic scene,
Foursome rocking the night away.

The chimp girls are quite neat at such.
The chimp guys are - well not so much!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Fun Raisers - LP Zoo

On a fundraiser, he came to
Visit us penguins to say"Hi."
To us all at Lincoln Park Zoo
He seemed a friendly smooth hip guy.
Of course we penguins don't do cash.
We do it for love of show biz.
So far the show has been a smash,
Humoring humans - busy tiz.
Fun raising is what we do best.
He understood that's how it goes.
We swam around for him with zest.
Waddle we do encore - who knows!

October 8th, twenty sixteen,
The Prez did visit our scene.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Low Clown

A human is hidden within,
Under the makeup and costume.
Thinking good thoughts or thoughts of sin?
Are you seen as target for doom?
A stranger strange in sound and sight.
You are not sure to laugh or cry.
Down deep you feel all is not right,
A creepy feeling - not sure why.
It is a party after all.
For fun, that's why the people came.
You face the clown and hear him call,
"Hi, John Wayne Gacy is my name."

Where's a serial killer clown?
Perhaps there is one in your town.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

A Federal Case - LP Zoo

An eastern massasauga, I
Am a rattlesnake with new hope.
My kind are now protected by
Humans with a federal scope.
I got hatched at Lincoln Park Zoo
To represent my species live,
And humans can study me to
Better how we might all survive.
In the Reptile House you'll find me,
Helping to get this good cause done.
We all can help to make it be -
Save Animals From Extinction.

My thanks to all, I wish to shout.
Stop by and thanks I'll rattle out.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

The Fig and the Wasp

The fig and the wasp - a duet,
Partnering so to reproduce.
Inside the figs, the wasps do set
As an egg laying place for use.
The wasps do hatch and then they mate.
The male wasps' duties done - all die.
The female wasps evacuate.
With the fig pollen - off they fly,
Pollinating other figs, so
The mutual cycle completes.
Over and other, doncha know,
The fig/wasp rendezvous repeats.

So when you bite a fig, the crunch
Could be leftover wasps - a bunch!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

African Penguin Debut - LP Zoo

The African penguin debut -
October 6th, '16 - the date.
New home at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
The word heard from each bird is "Great!"
In water's where we like to be.
Our feathers colored in such way,
White front, black back - so hard to see
By those who want to make us prey.
Below each feather, oil is made.
We help each other spread it out
To give us water proofing aid.
That's what teamwork is all about.

You are invited to come by,
And watch us in the water "fly."

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Smashing Pumpkins - LP Zoo

Tiz time to harvest pumpkins, so
I get a pumpkin - what to do!
I ponder a bit - doncha know,
At home in the Lincoln Park Zoo.
I use my finger nails to dig
The nose, the mouth and the two eyes.
My Jack O'Lantern draws a big
Human crowd - my art to surmise.
I watch you watching intently,
Amazed at my artistic skill.
This gorilla can't leave it be.
I think smashing and smash I will.

My favorite Chicago band?
"Smashing Pumpkins" - you understand!

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Ivory Power

Humans kill elephants each day,
Amounting to thousands each year,
Cuz selling ivory does pay.
Profit is to humans most dear.
All kinds of laws get human made,
Filled with fancy words to make it
Illegal - the ivory trade,
Maybe slows the killing a bit.
But precious ivory is such
That humans will pay any price,
So any law does not mean much,
Priority, to be precise.

'Twill pay to kill, to be succinct,
Till the elephant be extinct.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Tribbles

Tribbles were a mythical beast,
Matter over mind on Star Trek.
They loved to mate, they loved to feast,
Causing humanoids lots of heck.
A puppy size small furry thing
That purred and cooed with each hand stroke,
But due to mating and eating,
Overwhelmed all humanoid folk.
Iota Geminorum Four
Was the planet tribbles came from,
Spread across galaxies galore,
Such trials and tribblelations - hmm!

Tribbles will be a fact one day.
Enroute to Earth, they're on their way.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Clean Cut for Prez

Thomas Dewey did run for Prez
Two times, and two times he did lose.
One reason for his losses sez
His having a mustache - bad news.
Especially with women vote,
The hairy lip viewed negative.
Look of villainy some did note,
A creepy vibe - the 'stache did give.
Since the Dewey defeats, no one
Has tempted fate with facial hair.
All clean shaven choices have run,
A 'stache just too iffy to wear.

A mustache hinders a Prez bid.
Hillary Clinton keeps hers hid.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Able to Adapt

In the day of the dinosaur,
The penguins were able to fly,
But then decided they liked more
To be in water than in sky.
It took penguins a while to solve
How to be more fish and less bird,
But slowly did reverse evolve
From wing to flipper, in a word.
Bigger muscle and denser bone
To make a body torpedo.
Light/dark feathers - camouflaged tone.
In time, transition was a go.

The penguins left air - who knows why!
Water was where they picked to fly.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Second Best

The crested penguin female does
Take a six month long ocean cruise.
Egg making's not on her mind, cuz
Most spent energy she does use
For swimming long and hard until
She gets back to land and can do
A second egg with focused skill.
Hatch success in egg number two,
While that first egg that formed at sea
Is small and doomed from the get go,
Nothing that it's cracked up to be,
Just wrong place, wrong time - doncha know!

The laid "egg"spelled on the first try,
But no one knows "egg"sactly why!

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Toughie

The Rabbs fringe limbed tree frog - no more.
Toughie, the last known one, has died.
There are pictures of him galore.
His call - one record does provide.
Rescued by humans, he was brought
To a Zoo, receiving good care.
Tries were made, but Toughie was not
Able to mate with success there.
Finally, Toughie was the last
Of his tree frog kind known to be,
A star in the role he was cast -
Amphibian celebrity.

Toughie, the last such frog is gone.
Only his memory lives on.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Undung - LP Zoo

We flamingos do habitate
Our place at Lincoln Park Zoo.
The keepers here are really great,
Cleaning up doo doo that we do.
So when we see boots walking by,
We know "house" keeping's being done.
We tweet thank you out in reply,
Cuz cleanup cannot be much fun.
So we go about our biz,
And show our best to each guest,
Confident that a keeper is
Removing droppings from the nest.

Around us never gets too deep,
Thanks to keepers taking the "bleep."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Black Widow Delay

Time to find a black widow she
For the black widow he to mate.
Now I do know instinctively,
I do my biz, odds are I'm ate.
The key's a she who's juvenile.
My fangs can open up her seal,
Deposit in her my sperm pile,
Do a reseal, and Dad's the deal.
This is a tricky thing to do.
A web of immature shes' would
Be for me like a dream come true.
I stumbled on one - life is good.

I got lucky this time around.
No ripe black widow gulped me downed.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Goat Five Band - LP Zoo

Levine and Flynn and Madden and
Carmichael and Valentine be
Named after the Maroon Five Band.
The alpine goats are family,
Welcoming visitors in on
The goat yard, so to know first hand,
A one on one phenomenon,
With each and all boys in the band.
Here a "maa," there a "maa" be sung.
The sound of music echoes through.
Be careful not to step on dung,
In the Farm at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Hear the goats "maa" and heed the call.
It will behoove you one and all.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Dream Night '16 - LP Zoo

I hear a lot of noise, I do.
This young monkey should be asleep.
Tiz night time at Lincoln Park Zoo,
With human visitors - a heap!
I wonder what is going on,
To bring them out this time of night.
Tiz a Dream Night phenomenon,
So human kids with illness might
Enjoy an awesome time and place
With us wild animals for real,
And do so at a caring pace.
For all of us - tiz a dream deal!

I'm just a kid, but it does seem
That each and ev'ry kid can dream.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Getting Ready - LP Zoo

Getting ready - husband and wife,
To celebrate the wife's birthday.
The couple's shared a long good life.
Night out - no kids - hip hip hooray!
The wife, wanting to look just right,
Spends a while in front of the mirror,
To dress and make up for her night,
As husband's waiting on his dear,
The longer the more fidgety.
Doing what married couples do,
Both wife and husband - normal be,
At home in the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The gibbons are getting it down,
Ready to go out on the town.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Fred and Wilma - LP Zoo

Fred and Wilma, down on the Farm,
Pig siblings at Lincoln Park Zoo.
We ham it up with loads of charm,
Baconing to the guests, we do.
Bro Fred is the guy in the red.
Sis Wilma is the gal in gray.
Grunting when we are getting fed.
Pig chow is the Zoo pay pal way.
Sometimes guests confuse us for sheep,
Cuz we sport lots of curly hair.
When we hear this we do oink "Bleep,"
Cuz we're porkers extraordinaire.

The little red barn is where we
Will pig out in your company.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Arnie

Arnold Palmer golfed into fame,
Through many decades on T.V.
One of the masters of the game,
Drinking lemonade with iced tea.
Led Arnie's army as the King,
A champion for the common folk.
To many course of life he'd bring
A drive to win and score a joke.
From tee off to the final putt,
Arnie found good purpose to play.
For hope, he always made the cut,
And left us glad he played his way.

A hole in one life in the cup,
The Pearly Gates have opened up.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Piltdown Man

Charles Dawson became famous for
Discovering the missing link
Between humans and apes of yore.
But now he's famous for hoodwink.
At Piltdown pit, a skull he "found,"
That got renowned as "Piltdown Man."
But really chimpanzee teeth ground
With the jaw of orangutan,
Stuck in a human skull to fool
The world for decades as a hoax.
This only goes to prove the rule -
Tiz not too hard to fool "smart" folks.

Inside of Dawson's skull there be
The thought of prize skullduggery.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

"P" as in Paste

Ammonia is a bleach, and so
Used on your teeth would whiten up,
As many folks want, doncha know!
Ancient Romans would use a cup
Of ammonia, from which to brush,
To make their teeth all white and clean.
But ammonia from where? - hush, hush.
'Twas a secret kept 'twixt and 'tween.
Perhaps the toothpaste you now use
Contains the secret, Romans knew.
Ingredient list to peruse
Could contain a chemical clue.

So with your choppers, you just might
Brush your teeth till urine the white.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chicago - Ferris Wheel

George Ferris' brainchild - Ferris wheel,
Built for the Chicago World's Fair,
In eighteen ninety three - big deal.
First of its kind as ride affair.
Four years earlier, Paris did
The Eiffel Tower as grand high.
"Out Eiffel Eiffel" George did bid,
And up went wheel into the sky,
Two hundred and sixty four feet.
Twenty one hundred riders could,
At the same time, revolve complete.
For fifty cents the ride was good.

A wheel of fortune for George - not!
Zero profit from it, George got.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Down for the Count

Tiz in my and and then tiz not.
Not in my mouth, but on the floor.
How many seconds have I got,
That I must grab the treat before
Bacteria all squat upon?
Five seconds be an olden rule,
But new findings keep dumping on.
Must check the moisture molecule.
Who counts the time or has the will?
So oft psychology does find,
When from my hand a treat do spill,
Tiz really matter over mind.

Dropped on the floor, treat does entreat,
C'mon -  to eat or not to eat.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Mike - LP Zoo

You'll find me in the chicken yard,
At the Farm in Lincoln Park Zoo.
Over the chickens I do guard,
Shading from too much sun, I do.
But any season I'm around,
To make the chickens feel secure,
That all is well upon this ground,
My very presence does assure.
So gaze at me - I am a beaut,
Right in front of the chicken coop.
This is my home and where I root,
Fertilized by the chicken poop.

When there, say "Hi Mike," cuz that's me,
A feel useful river birch tree.