Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Cuttlefish Compete

The humans call us cuttlefish,
Though not at all a fish we be,
But a mollusk and look squidish,
With tentacles to grab firmly.
There's many males for each female,
And so the mating can get rough.
He versus he in fierce detail
To show who's got the better stuff.
Changing skin colors starts off first,
Then grappling, biting, twisting in
A cloud of ink from bodies burst,
Until at last one he does win.

She's with the he winner, no doubt,
Hoping he is not too worn out.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Hair Trump and the First Hundred Days

The "first hundred days" thing began
When FDR first coined the phrase
In a chat 'bout his New Deal plan.
Since then a measure for Prez daze.
My boss now claims the most success,
Though no major laws did get passed.
Lots of Trump trumpeting tweets - yes!
A record of hot air broadcast.
With each day I added more spray,
And through it all this hair held firm,
Hoping that dye will hide the gray
That's sure to come rest of the term.

First hundred days Hair Trump no doubt
Stayed in place and did not fall out.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Eiffel Tower Brown

The World's Fair, 1889 -
An attraction to pay Paree.
The Eiffel Tower paid off fine,
S'posed to be just temporary.
But the iron landmark still does stand.
Millions do visit ev'ry year.
And ev'ry seventh year, by hand,
A new paint coating does appear,
While open the tower remains.
Painters are careful as they must,
So no paint on the tourist rains.
Cannot have the Iron Lady rust!

The paint shade, "Eiffel Tower Brown,"
Lighter atop and darker down.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Show of Strength - LP Zoo

Around Earth Day, this rhino did
A strength show at Lincoln Park Zoo.
The stockade wood wall to me bid,
To prove to all I could butt through.
And sure enough, I charged ahead,
Pushing through wood poles to the ground.
Human onlookers looked in dread,
But I just grinned and turned around,
Across the yard and went inside.
I heard the keepers shut the door.
All the humans in relief sighed
That I'd chosen not to explore.

Since then I note the humans made
Reinforcements to the stockade.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Peek a New - LP Zoo

At the Primate House I do be
The newest primate on the scene.
A baby crowned lemur is me.
You may find me tucked 'twixt and 'tween
My Mom's soft, warm and cuddly fur,
Where I peek out at all around,
But feeling safe with Mom for sure.
I go wherever Mom be bound.
A lot of eyes are peeking back
Each day, and no eyes peek the same.
When not busy with sleep or snack,
Back and forth peeking - I am game.

Visit me at Lincoln Park Zoo,
And play a game of peek-a-boo.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Odds Against Him

Male jumping spiders have eight eyes
Looking for a female to woo.
But oft this search turns to demise,
Cuz he can't see her clearly - true!
He courts any and ev'ry she,
Whether she be alive or dead,
Even a dif'rent species be.
The mating urge - stuck in his head.
So even though his odds be bad,
He jumps into his courting dance.
No try, then no success be had.
He yearns, so has to take the chance.

Even if he does seal the deal,
He still might end up as her meal.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Watch for Falling... - LP Zoo

A meerkat is always on guard.
I watch intently, yes I do,
Even though predators be hard
To find at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
No big birds be flying about,
Attacking in glare of the sun.
Black under my eyes aids no doubt
Seeing a threat in time to run.
So why still constant guard you ask?
Lots of humans be walking by.
Humans be clumsy, so my task -
Any falling object - I spy.

Always on guard, yes I must be,
From humans dropping phones on me.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

First Kiss - LP Zoo

Together at Lincoln Park Zoo,
Hoping for a match to be made
Are she, Kobe, and he, Siku,
Sharing romancing promenade.
He's seven and she's seventeen.
The age dif'rence, no matter be,
If Cupid's arrow makes the scene
And joins together he and she.
So far there's been good meet and greet,
The close encounters going well.
When might the love thing be complete?
Be patient - only time will tell.

Could be a hit, could be a miss,
Two polar bears and their first kiss.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Groundless

A baby boomer, I grew up
Playing outside, digging in dirt,
Rolling around like a young pup.
A dirt bath did more good than hurt.
The experts say that dirt gave me
Protection from diseases that,
As I got older, could then be.
Thank dirt, I am a healthy stat.
Most kids today don't get in touch
With dirt the way that I used to.
Kids today stay inside so much.
We do dirt cover up, we do.

My youth fun dirt playground is not -
Covered in a paved parking lot.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Blood Falls

Blood Falls - the name 'twas given to
A flowing pour from glacier tongue
In Antarctica of red hue.
From whence and why such eerie sprung?
The answer found - saltwater brine,
With a high iron content therein,
With lower freezing point design,
Keeping a flowing discipline.
The brine seeps through some cracks of ice
Within the glacier's frozen crust,
In such amounts that do suffice
To flow therefrom as melted rust.

A glacier that does seem to bleed,
A very scary tale indeed!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Tree Kangaroo

Tree kangaroos live up above
In trees found in the down under,
Having a teddy bear look of,
Making watchers really wonder.
But tree kangaroos represent
Marsupial macropods true.
Shorter legs and longer arms - hint,
For doing tree climbing, they do.
'Bout thirty inches, thirty pounds,
Not counting a long, thick, furred tail.
From tree to tree, making the rounds,
Using sharp claws for grip avail.

Endangered by the human threat,
Tree time no more would be the bet.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Tucker - LP Zoo

A new crowned lemur babe be born
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
As a Mom I am no greenhorn -
Do make lots of babies, I do.
The humans stare around a lot,
Trying to get a new babe peek.
Am I concerned? - no I am not.
It's like a game of hide and seek.
I keep the babe real close to me,
Tucked securely within my fur.
For needed Mom care, close I be.
Always on duty, that's for sure.

Babe's tucked in me, safety the aim.
After all, Tucker is my name!

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Watch and Wait - LP Zoo

We lionesses see, we do,
Repairing by the humans that
Make walking at Lincoln Park Zoo
No go by our habitat.
The dust and noise fly through the air,
As jackhammers dig out the old
To put new concrete/brick in there,
So human feet will be consoled.
The human workers move so slow.
Who knows when this job will be done.
We have no other place to go,
But watching hard hats can be fun.

We gals are used to the rare quirk,
If and when truly "men at work."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

World Penguin Day '17 - LP Zoo

April 25th, '17,
We celebrate World Penguin Day.
African penguins make the scene,
Showing the Lincoln Park Zoo way.
Love to swim, birds of a feather,
Play water games within their pool.
No matter Chicago weather.
Watch them in action - oh so cool!
Up close and personal we see
Some time these penguins choose to share
Of how together we can be
A better world where we do care.

Visit, connect and celebrate.
Penguin encountering is great!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Off with the Old, On with the New

I am a snake with skin to shed,
Replacing all the old with new,
Peeling back the skin from my head
To my tail in one piece I do,
Like a sock pulled off inside out,
With new brighter skin below,
Feel rejuvenated - no doubt!
Leave the old skin and off I go.
When I was younger, shedding be
Four or five times a year - felt nice.
But now an older snake is me,
Each year I shed just once or twice.

Don't bother me in my shed zone.
It's time I'd rather be alone.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Puerto Rican Parrots - LP Zoo

The Puerto Rican parrot pair
Have come to the Lincoln Park Zoo,
Mister Ambassadors to share
The make a wish to help come true.
The only parrots currently
To leave the Puerto Rico isle,
Enjoying some celebrity,
A lot of picture taking - smile!
In the Small Mammal/Reptile House,
A weird residence for a bird,
But the parrots don't seem to grouse,
Seem quite at home and self assured.

Visit the parrots and say, "Hi,"
And have a view that is birds eye.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Rattleless

The rattle of a rattlesnake
Is how a rattlesnake makes known
It's irritated, and does shake
It's tail to make a rattling tone.
Each time a rattlesnake does shed
It's skin, a new rattle does grow,
And a louder rattle does spread,
So harder of hearing will know.
A rattlesnake once in a while
Loses its rattles in some way,
And must slither in a lifestyle
With not a rattle on display.

A rattlesnake with rattle none
Does have a reptile dysfunction.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Shipworm

A shipworm the humans call me,
Cuz I like to bore into wood.
Really, saltwater clam I be,
A yard long when really grown good.
I have two shell valves at one end,
Which I use to burrow into
The wood, then bacteria lend
Help - digest cellulose, they do.
The bacteria and their waste
Provide me with nutrition fine.
Of course, I have no tongue to taste,
But eating's not a must of mine.

"Termite of the sea" - I am nicknamed.
More news of me, I wood be famed.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Softer Chew

Man eating lions have been known,
And man has asked the question why
Some lions eat man's flesh - not bone,
When there is other meat supply
Far more nutritious than mere man.
Theories abound of state of mind
That make some lions kill by plan,
Then feed on flesh of humankind.
One theory that does have some bite -
A lion's teeth go through much stress.
There be no dentist oversight.
Perhaps a change of diet - yes!

Toothache - what does a lion do?
Flesh of man be easy to chew.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chicago - Jane Addams

Jane Addams was a pioneer,
The "mother" of social work known
As being one to persevere
To bringing peace to the world zone.
From Chicago, her home, she made
Hull House a place for settlement,
Where women and children got aid
To better their environment.
For social justice and world peace,
She mothered a reforming tide,
And her efforts did never cease,
Continuing on when she died.

Dreamer, compassionate and wise,
Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Wax Worm Wonder

Humans make plastic come to be,
By stringing carbon atoms so
A polymer, structurely,
Becomes the stuff we've come to know.
Loads of plastic do go to waste,
Polluting the Earth ev'rywhere.
Unmaking plastic woes are faced.
The wax worm may be of aid there.
Wax worms digest plastic like wax.
The ways and means they do digest
Should be studied for useful facts,
In the unmaking plastic quest.

How to unmake plastic long term,
'Twill be known as the wonder worm.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Star Nosed Mole

Humans call me a star nosed mole.
In swamps and marshes I be found.
My multi appendaged snout's role -
Touching for food in soggy ground.
Food is a worm or an insect,
That once I do reach out and touch,
Gobble it down quick and direct.
World's fastest eater, pretty much.
Water proof fuzzy hamster size,
Nose shaped like an octopus wee,
All of my sensors emphasize
The touchy feely one I be.

As functioning organism -
Optimal consumerism.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Dirty Diagnosis

The doctor gave me quite bad news.
I have only six months to live.
Second opinion - same reviews.
Does the doc have advice to give?
One thing to do, doc does suggest,
Is take a mud bath ev'ry day,
And therein just relax and rest.
Is there a cure in this some way?
I ask the doc who tells me no -
Just a good practice thing to try.
I ask the doc why this is so.
And the doc gives me this reply,

"Mud bath - not strange as it may sound."
"Get used to being in the ground."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Adopt a Primate Pen Pet - LP Zoo

National Pet Day reminds me,
Here at the Lincoln Park Zoo, that
A primate not a good pet be
In my chimpanzee habitat.
But this chimpanzee has a thought -
Adopt a pet would be okay
From a distance, the pet would not
Be a problem in any way.
The pet and I could still connect
In moments here and there to share
A time and place each could respect.
My pet would know that I do care.

I have not quite decided yet
Which human I want for a pet.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Imigongo

Start of the 19th century,
An African prince did invent
"Imigongo," the art to be
An embellishment to present
To visitors who happened by
The princely home on his estate.
Paint design pleasing to the eye,
Geometrics he did create,
Using naturally made paint,
Applied to give an earthy tone,
A mix between bizarre and quaint,
All captured on a surfaced zone.

The surface "canvas" that be hung
Be made out of dried out cow dung.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

From April In April

April, the giraffe, did give birth
On April 15th, '17.
The world wide viewing was well worth
Watching the newborn make the scene.
The New York animal park gave
Two months of a You Tube live feed.
Most of the reviews were a rave
O'er the public maternal deed.
Both the giraffes are doing well.
April is giving baby care.
As a Momma, she does excel,
With lots of Momma tips to share.

Momma April did it her way,
After a very taxing day.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Seal of Approval - LP Zoo

Keep me healthy, the keepers do.
Seal of approval this seal gives
To keepers at Lincoln Park Zoo,
Caring about how well I lives.
At least twice a day I get checked -
An exam of my slip'ry bod.
Close up the keeper does inspect
If anything shows up that's odd.
I'm willing to participate.
I find one aspect really neat -
An incentive to motivate -
I'm gonna get a tasty treat.

I open my mouth for exam,
Thinking of fish to come, I am.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Wrybill

I be a wrybill bird, I be
The only bird with a bill bent,
Sideways and always bent rightly,
Long, thin and black in curved extent.
I am a plover, plump and small,
And make my home in New Zealand,
In large dynamic rivers all,
Where the tasty mayflies be grand.
That's where my bent bill be handy,
As I do make my mayfly stalks,
With the right angle that's dandy,
Reaching way under river rocks.

I eat mayflies and I sure will,
After I put them on my bill.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Low Calorie Count

Once humans decided to eat
A menu of variety,
Came selecting the choice of meat.
What would the catch of the day be?
Apparently, cave dwellers dined
On other humans time to time,
Looking for nutrition to find,
Aside from any taboo crime.
They found a human meal did not
Serve them nutritiously as well
As other beast food to be got.
On this the cave dwellers did dwell.

So when a human was consumed,
'Twas for less calories - assumed.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bee as It May

The bees go to the flowers for
Sugar rich nectar to ingest.
When full of the nectar galore,
Back to the hive to do the rest.
In the bee belly, enzymes do
Sugar to simple from complex.
Takes some time for the process to
Bee done inside the bee insects.
But then out comes the product sweet,
The only place where it bee made,
For centuries, a human treat,
For consumption, a stock-in-trade.

Down the nectar, the bees do scarf.
Up the honey, the bees do barf.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

National Zoo Lover's Day '17 - LP Zoo

Tiz National Zoo Lover's Day,
April the eighth, oh seventeen.
We snow monkeys are on display,
Part of the wonderful Zoo scene.
A Zoo can be a time and place
For learning ways and means to be
Conserving at a better pace,
The wildlife needs humanity.
We watch the humans watching us,
A chance for sharing close and live,
Connections that can be a plus
For how to have all wildlife thrive.

We do love good, oh yes we do.
We do love the Lincoln Park Zoo.