Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Who Wants to Play?

I was with my son in the car.
At the time he was three years old.
We had not been driving too far.
He wanted his window unrolled,
When we had to stop for a pile
Of traffic all jammed up ahead.
We sat in the car there a while,
The two of us - nothing was said.
Then suddenly I heard him say,
"A bunch of kids are asking me"
"To come over with them to play."
I heard nothing - what could this be?

He pointed and so I did stare.
A graveyard and no one was there.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Why Does She Hurt Me?

I am now beginning to feel
That she does not like me too much.
The pain and hunger are so real.
I truly long for loving touch.
It seems like I am left alone
With no one near to care for me.
Then I hear her in angry tone,
And know that soon there's pain to be.
To fall asleep is so welcome.
Her final blows do put me there.
She puts my body cold and numb
Into a dumpster, beyond care.

Not a bag of garbage, instead
A year old baby beaten dead.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Alexander Camelton is One - LP Zoo

A year ago I was born new,
First camel born in a long while,
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
I give the humans cause to smile.
So many visitors come by.
The Zoo is open ev'ry day.
But I'm a sociable young guy,
And have a very charming way.
I watch the humans watching me
Through all four seasons of the year.
There the Chicago skyline be.
I'm very happy that I'm here.

I'm Alexander Camelton.
In years and charm I'm number one.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Walk Shock

While out for a walk I did see
In the darkness there was a light -
A human diver nearing me
And taking pictures - hey all right!
It's lonely on the ocean floor,
Kicking up mud walking around,
Looking for food on which to score,
A walking fish - that should astound.
Of course I don't have legs to walk.
"Walking" fins have come to evolve,
A sight to human eyes to shock,
A new puzzle for them to solve.

I wish I had a T.V. set -
See myself on the Internet.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Keeping Balance

Seagull he did meet seagull she,
And he gave her a full bird's eye.
As she perched atop of a tree,
On the gal's back landed the guy.
He signals mating clear to her,
And if she stays still, she says, "Yes!"
The process is tricky for sure.
There's no guarantee of success.
Since seagulls are monogamous,
He and she will often return
To the same tree top to make us,
The family they both do yearn.

Mating of seagulls is a fact,
'Twixt and 'tween a balancing act.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Human Error

The tiger was born in the zoo.
The keeper provided good care,
With a barrier 'tween the two,
The only true safe way to share.
From space to space the tiger would
Be encouraged to move so that
Each tiger space, the keeper could
Maintain the tiger habitat.
Failure of gate or human mind
Causing keeper and tiger be
In the same space is fate designed
To result in a tragedy.

No human intervention will
Change a tiger's instinct to kill.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

She's Bossy - LP Zoo

What's a guy polar bear to do
When a gal polar bear's around,
Sharing space at Lincoln Park Zoo.
I try real hard to hold my ground.
After all, I did come here first,
Had run of the place for a while.
Then into my world she did burst,
And is a clamp on my free style.
I try to get on her best side,
Be as charming as I can be.
But she sets rules that do divide
Her from having to be with me.

This is my man cave - just for men.
But she is not letting me in.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Memorial Day 2017

U.S.A. - Memorial Day,
A day to honor soldiers dead.
The last Monday each month of May,
Less tribute and more fun instead.
Oh, still some living journey to
Cemeteries to gravesides of
Soldiers who died trying to do
Service out of duty and love.
For a nation that often seems
Forever fighting wars that be
Old bad endings to young good dreams.
From wars will we ever be free?

We owe it to all soldiers gone
To make real peace, and bring it on.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chicago - Aunt Jemima

Chicago - 1893,
First debuting at the World's Fair -
Aunt Jemima's pancake mix be
A favorite with the crowds there.
A former slave named Nancy Green
Took on the Aunt Jemima role.
Instant pancakes did make the scene,
Fast food made with a warmly soul.
Aunt Jemima made such a hit,
She got a lifetime contract to
Push the pancake mix as befit
What as a slave she used to do.

Too long the public did not gripe -
Aunt Jemima, stereotype.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Eureka

Archimedes, an ancient Greek,
Was known for his findings in math.
How to find volume he did tweak
In the midst of taking a bath.
As he lowered himself into
The tub, he saw the water rise.
His bod - a displacement did do,
Volume for volume - oh how wise!
Thus, any object's volume can
In water be measured complete.
From the tub Archimedes ran,
Shouting "Eureka" down the street.

"Eureka" - Greek for "I have found."
But not his clothes - he was not gowned!

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

No Comic Relief

In the desert, a guy got lost.
For days the guy wandered around.
Some animal tracks the guy crossed.
Later a puma the guy found.
The big cat did growl at the guy.
The guy was not sure what to do.
Some comic relief might apply,
Perhaps telling a joke or two.
And so the guy did say, "Knock, knock."
The puma answered not, "Who's there?"
But circled in a hungry stalk,
Then made a punch line through the air.

The guy got ate by the puma.
The cat had no sense of huma.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Hazards to Join

He meets her and decides to woo,
Giving her love bites here and there.
She assents. What next does he do?
Bites hard to hold her to prepare,
And docks beside her to insert
His clasper targeted just right
Into her cloaca, no flirt.
For neither is there much delight.
The coupling must come quickly, so
He and she won't asphyxiate,
Not getting enough water flow,
Comes hazards with the urge to mate.

Certainly no walk in the park -
Mating 'twixt and 'tween shark and shark.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Squirrel Rocket

The flight mode of a flying squirrel
Is not the same as a bird flies.
A body membrane does unfurl,
Like a parachute in disguise.
And then from tree to tree a glide,
Using the fluffy tail to steer,
Up to hundred fifty foot ride,
Quite accurate from there to here.
The tail also acts as a brake
To make the landing in good form.
The flight's at night for safety sake,
Less predators out then the norm.

Most famous flying squirrel to be?
The cartoon, Rocket J. "Rocky."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Stoker Counted

Count Dracula, the vampire, came
From the mind of Bram Stoker, who
Gave the fictional legend fame
In a novel with rave review.
Transylvania in place and time,
Where fact and fiction could both blend
In tale of a bloodthirsty crime,
Thought out by Stoker, and he penned
Bringing the Count from far away
Back to England and Stoker's home.
And made dread closer in a way,
As through shared streets the Count did roam.

A century, the Count still lives.
Stoker's gift of undead still gives.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Tiger Trip

A tiger took a trip to town,
Hundreds of miles from the park where
He should be, so guess he came down
To check out the city life there.
He was captured by a sleep shot,
And rehabilitated so
He'd stay in the park and should not
Get the urge to get up and go.
A few months later, time to try
Taking him again to the park,
And a helicopter did fly
Him back where he did disembark.

Back in the park, he's free to roam
With GPS for calling home.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Golfers off Course

On a South African golf green,
A golfing hazard did appear,
Two male black mambas on the scene,
Fighting over a female here.
The black mamba, deadliest snake,
One bite would be fatal on par,
And so no putts the golfers take,
Moving off of the green afar.
Entwined, the snakes do dance away.
Unknown which one did win the match.
The golfers continued to play,
Keeping a nervous eye out - natch!

Black mambas in their dance of woo
Do not ask if they can play through.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Food Grab

Hanging by the dock on the bay,
People  throwing free food to me,
Got excited - what can I say!
Jumped up high so that I could be
Better positioned to grab more
Of the food, but I grabbed instead
The dress of a small girl, before
I knew it we both did head
Down into the water below,
An oopsie that was not discreet.
The girl rescued, thankfully so,
Cuz humans are no good to eat.

This sea lion has attitude -
Go for gusto where there's free food.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Endangering

As the human species has spread
Like a cancer around the Earth,
Many other species be dead
Because of human's selfish worth.
Oh, humans try to compensate,
Passing a few laws here and there.
But most are too little, too late.
The human species hates to share.
Only a matter of time when
Human habitat pushes out
Most of the other species, then
Humans will point fingers, no doubt.

Mother Nature's sure solution -
Send the humans to extinction.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Squirrel Away

A really good nut I did find,
To bury for a later date.
This squirrel is always of a mind
To age a nut before it's ate.
Other squirrels are watching me, so
The nut's burying, I pretend.
Tiz hard for other squirrels to know
Into which hole the nut will end.
I make each empty hole filled in,
As though this is the nut's real spot,
Leaving the other squirrels again
To think tiz here, but here nut's not.

Too oft I am forgetful me.
That nut I buried - where it be?

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Make Ice - LP Zoo

Chicago in the month of May,
A lot of green growing anew,
And in the grass I love to play
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
The arctic climes I've never known,
This polar bear - four season guy.
The fur and blubber that I've grown
Are genetics that I've come by.
So when the weather gets too hot,
As Chicago weather can get,
I can find a good cool off spot,
Somewhere it's dry, somewhere it's wet.

One cooler that is really nice -
There's Zoo machines that do make ice!

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Tituba

The famed Salem witch hunt began
When slave Tituba came to town.
The tales she told, as tales oft can,
Caused folks to get dirty and down.
Tituba sounded like a witch.
Confession was beat out of her.
On others Tituba did "snitch."
Lots of trials and hangings for sure.
Tituba was not hanged, instead
The Salem folk stuck her in jail,
Maybe afraid if she was dead,
Salem's future - a curse could trail.

From jail Tituba was set free.
She died in sixteen ninety three.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Quoth the Raven

A famous poem was written by
The mournful Edgar Allen Poe,
The Raven" - when Poe was asked why
That bird, inquiring minds need know,
A non reasoning creature, but
Capable of repeating word
Dramatic, Poe replied. Tut tut!
The raven is quite a smart bird,
Using the humans to exploit,
Tricking the bigger human brain.
Mind over matter - quite adroit
Making humans wonder in vain.

Are humans smarter than before?
And quoth The Raven, "Nevermore."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bark of Opinion - LP Zoo

We painted dogs do hear the news -
Coming to the Lincoln Park Zoo,
Folks from the American Zoos
And Aquariums - purpose to
Do an inspection of how well
Animal care is being done.
And so far from what we can tell,
The Lincoln Park Zoo is A-one.
We do receive really great care.
The keepers keep us quite content,
Looking after our welfare.
Our time here is time well spent.

If we see A.Z.A. come by,
We'll bark a rate of very high.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Talk on the Street

A pirate with a parrot came
Together walking down the street.
One shoulder the parrot did claim
On the pirate, perched nice and neat.
Both in colors of bright array,
They were quite a sight to behold.
Minding their biz, going their way,
But attracting stares as they strolled
Out in the sunny day to bask.
The pair walked with vigor and vim.
A passerby happened to ask,
"Beautiful - where did you get him?"

"Found him on the beach in low tide,"
"Pirate's Bay," the parrot replied.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bow to Show - LP Zoo

Diana monkey, I am new,
Coming into this time and place.
New born at the Lincoln Park Zoo,
I am looking at Momma's face,
A streak of white across her brow,
Named for huntress, Diana's bow.
I don't have that same white streak now.
Momma says in time it will grow.
I trust Momma to know her stuff,
And she will teach me what she knows.
And when I'm at last old enough,
Will be when my white streaked brow shows.

Journey to African Journey
To meet the newest member - me!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Albany Adder

An Albany adder sighting!
Not seen for almost a decade,
Herpetologists delighting
That such a finding has been made.
Feared extinct, the venomous snake,
Small and with brightly colored scales,
South Africa, its home does make,
But little known in much details.
After a hunt - cranny and nook,
Four of the adders the team found.
Gave them a pointed eyebrow look
At all the human hugs around.

This is a sighting that's for real,
Not like the Elvis Presley deal.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Climb Time

The argan tree bears tasty fruit,
Taste and aroma goats do crave,
And climb the tree in hot pursuit,
Mind over matter, they behave.
The goats must climb on branches high,
Gnarled and thorny to get their fix,
Eating the whole fruit in supply,
As they're doing acrobat tricks.
Within each fruit there be a nut.
Undigestible the nut be,
And so the goat poops it out, but
Others seek opportunity.

Humans do go through the goat waste,
And grab the nuts for human taste.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Wild Ponies at Assateague

Wild ponies of Assateague Isle,
Maryland and Virginia do share
The park where the ponies beguile
The visitors that come to stare.
From where did these wild ponies come?
The main theory is a shipwreck.
A pony filled galleon from
Spain went down with all hands on deck.
Some of the ponies made it to
The island where they've lived on since.
Quite a harsh environment - tiz true!
They survive thanks to good horse sense.

Assateague is a long time home,
Many wild ponies forever roam.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Mom on Hand

I am an octopus female,
And feel the maternal instinct,
So do a mating with a male,
And make thousands of eggs all linked.
I place the eggs on rocks secure,
And guard them many day and night,
Fanning them often to be sure
When it is time they will hatch right.
The time does come and hatch they do.
I use my muscle fans to blow
My children as they journey to
The ocean life they'll come to know.

All my children go on their way,
And soon I'll die, this Mother's Day.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Narwhal on Point

I am a narwhal, kind of whale,
Called the "unicorn" of the sea.
With a head "horn" I can impale
Whatever comes in front of me.
The "horn" is really a canine
Tooth projecting out from my jaw.
Nine feet long is this tooth of mine.
Of course it causes lots of awe.
My tooth is an organ of sense,
Connects my brain with stimuli
From my sea world that compliments
Awareness as my world goes by.

Whole truth and nothing but the truth,
This narwhal has a tell tale tooth.