Sense Sonnet - Acher

Rhinestone Cowboy

Glen Campbell's career had gone flat,
When Rhinestone Cowboy came his way,
About a faded star who's at
The twilight period of his day.
All that was needed - a hit song
To put the singer back on top.
Grammy awards would come along,
Winning in both country and pop.
Rhinestone Cowboy gave Glen the gift
Of his stardom getting relit,
Of his career getting a lift,
Thanks to a real gem shining hit.

The singer Glen Campbell is gone,
But Rhinestone Cowboy still shines on.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Primate Pet Peeve - LP Zoo

Tiz Cotton Top Tamarin Day,
So I pose for some pix I do,
Looking concerned in a cute way
From my home at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Tamarins are primates petite.
Too many of us in the wild
Are grabbed and sold as pets to meet
Demands of pet supplies stockpiled.
Social media does promote
This illegal activity,
So I am on Facebook to note
Primates don't make good pets - agree!

No primate should be made a pet.
A human - I would never get.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Roled into Two

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert
Were stars in "It Happened One Night."
Neither had wanted to be there,
Thinking the roles were just not right.
Billed as romantic comedy,
Filmed at a minor studio,
Colbert and Gable longed to be
Anywhere else, but could not go.
Both were under contract to do
Their parts, and so they each did act
As best they could all the way through,
But thought the film a bomb in fact.

Academy Awards came in.
Both Colbert and Gable did win.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Three Little Ducklings - LP Zoo

Three little ducklings hatched anew
In Bird House Wetlands habitat,
Located in Lincoln Park Zoo.
Fine feathered friends be where it's at.
The little ones do waddle 'round,
As Mom and Dad do supervise
The ducklings getting webbed feet bound
In a big world for tiny size.
Getting used to water will be
A natural fast fun duck thing,
And soon swimming will be all three,
Splishing and splashing - a duck fling.

Come visit the new hatched three pack,
And be in for a trio quack.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Down in the Dump

In the midst of a burglary,
I got the urge to take a dump.
While on the john, a noise there be.
I got the urge to move my rump,
And skidaddled out of the place,
With my bag of ill gotten gains.
Too soon the cops busted my case,
Called me a bone head with no brains.
They took some of my number two,
And then ran a D.N.A. test,
Matching the results to guess who!
An easy job totally messed.

A hard lesson learned - do not rush,
Caught for not taking time to flush.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Bidet

The late 1600's in France,
Furniture makers did display
An item getting discreet  glance.
'Twas commonly called a bidet,
Meaning pony as a French word.
On the bidet one would straddle,
For best washing to be assured,
But did not require a saddle.
Turned on, allowing water to
Spray over lower body part
Upon completing a to do,
And getting off to a fresh start.

Cleansing of privates, so to seek.
Plumbing to plumbing, so to speak.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Burning Man

The event is called Burning Man.
A wooden effigy is burned.
1986 - it began,
When a few San Franciscans yearned
A "radical self expression,"
And did the deed upon a beach.
And once one Burning Man was done,
More Burning Man was the beseech.
But the police came and said no
More Burning Man would be allowed.
The effigy would have to go.
Away went the Burning Man crowd.

In a Nevada desert find
An annual Burning Man kind.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Fishing Expedition - LP Zoo

What does a penguin like to eat?
I like to eat a fish, oh yes.
Do I have teeth to chew such meat?
No I do not, I must confess.
So then how can I eat a fish?
Well first I grab it in my bill,
Then flip it backward with a swish,
Kind of like swallowing a pill.
Do I like fish because of taste?
What is this taste thing asked of me?
When inside me a fish is placed,
I just know that's how it should be.

Come visit the Lincoln Park Zoo,
And I will eat a fish for you.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chicago - Picasso

1967 - it came
From Picasso to Chicago,
A sculpture gaining world wide fame.
Fifty foot multi tonned to show
An unnamed what is it? of steel.
Be it a bird, baboon, or hound?
Be it a person of appeal?
Picasso made no defined sound.
Winged and long faced with beady eyes,
Maybe a cubist Al Capone,
Ever perching to gangsterize
The Windy City as be known.

The massive metal work of art,
Soul searching from Chicago's heart.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Penguin Checkup - LP Zoo

I saw the keepers coming, so
I thought of hands handing out fish.
A penguin thinks of such, you know.
But this time not as I would wish.
The keepers brought the vet instead.
'Twas my annual checkup day,
A lot of pokes from feet to head,
But all checked out in a good way.
The human hands of caring held,
Not a fish as I had had hope,
But nonedibles were propelled
Upon me, like a stethoscope.

Another year - good health review.
Life is good at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Chicago - Lincoln Park Zoo

In August, 1868,
Was started the Lincoln Park Zoo.
A gift of mute swans did create
The time and place, and did accrue
Gifts of other animals that
Led to the public to support
A safe, protected habitat -
And ark for animals - all sort.
Millions of visitors each year
Come to the Zoo to hear and see
Wonders of wildlife living near.
The visit to the Zoo is free.

The Zoo that's found in Lincoln Park,
Still time and place of wildlife ark.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Whale Nap

A whale in water must breathe air,
And at the surface must do so.
Inside the whale, oxygen there
Let's the whale underwater go,
And stay for quite a while until
The next surfacing must occur.
Whales will sleep as all mammals will,
But cannot oversleep for sure.
Near the surface a whale can float,
Up be the head, down be the tail.
When time to breathe the whale does note
The need to wake, and must not fail.

If fast asleep, the whale stays down
Too long submerged, the whale will drown.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Gaming Gorilla - LP Zoo

I love to play the games, I do,
Poking on the computer screen.
Enrichment at Lincoln Park Zoo
For this gorilla 'twixt and 'tween
Doing normal gorilla stuff,
Jumping, climbing, romping around.
I need to tease my mind enough,
So I don't get too lazy bound.
My fingers have the magic touch,
Make mind over matter, likewise,
When I do well as I do much,
I get a tasty treat as prize.

Come watch my play computer biz,
And check out this computer whiz.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Amare is 12 - LP Zoo

Western lowland gorilla guy,
Amare is now 12 years old.
He, with 3 bachelors, occupy
The same habitat to behold
Growing up at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Nearby, Dad Kwan can also see
When Amare comes into view.
How much alike the two do be.
Pronounced head crest, more silver backed,
Three hundred and seventy pounds,
The last year Amare fast tracked
The birthday wish to grow on - zounds!

Amare - a Happy Birthday.
You're growing up in a fast way.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Plains Zebras - LP Zoo

Two plains zebra brothers be new
To the African Savanna,
Sharing space in Lincoln Park Zoo
With giraffe, Miss Etiana.
Going on two, the brothers still
Are kind of shy and so do need
Settling in time and space, but will
Stripe up the 'hood quite soon, indeed.
Giraffes do browse, zebras do graze.
Browse be above, graze be below.
So lunch will be served in two ways,
As up and down the necks will go.

Should redraw the Savanna lots,
A blending of some stripes with spots.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Linda - LP Zoo

I am Linda, male order bride,
For cinereous vulture, Bruno,
An older guy, so I will bide
My time, till wedlocking a go.
Lincoln Park Zoo sure does seem fine.
The keepers are keeping me fed
Upon goodies I like to dine -
All kinds of meat already dead.
So far Bruno has not seen fit
To invite me out to share lunch.
Maybe he's playing hard to get.
He'll come around, I have a hunch.

I will give Bruno mating yen.
I'm just "egg"actly not sure when.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

United Korea?

U.S.S.R. and U.S.A.
Split Korea in '48,
And South and North became the way
Of war both hot and cold to date.
Super powers cannot agree.
Hostilities will never cease.
The winds of war will ever be.
There be no appetite for peace.
Tiz only a matter of time,
Nuclear weapons will be used.
Millions of victims of this crime,
And North and South will be hot fused.

United Korea once more,
And all Koreans rest in war.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Owlet it out in Song - LP Zoo

A young snowy owlet, "owl" let
Out all of my feelings in song.
A young Pavarotti, I'm set
For the concert where I belong.
I'm practicing my pitch and tone
To get my voice in the right range,
Ready to sing when I am grown
For stage and screen - not "owl" that strange.
And my feathers will turn all white,
Ready tuxedo, so to speak.
Ah yes, my future looks so bright,
Compared to owls who only squeak.

Singing career - I'm in pursuit.
For "owl"pera, I give a hoot.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Child View - LP Zoo

Two South African penguins do
A swim around the water pool.
Ah, the life at Lincoln Park Zoo,
Where being there is oh so cool!
The penguins wave at a small girl,
Watching them both swim through the glass,
Her hair stuck out in pig tailed curl,
Excited as the penguins pass.
This time, this place there be connect
Of nature's wonder 'twixt and 'tween,
Sensations of cause and effect,
Well worth the bond shared at the scene.

A visit to the Zoo will bring
Out the child with everything.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Royal Pat on the Head

Princess Diana saw the lad
As she was walking down the street
All by himself, did seem so sad.
So she went next to him to greet.
Nine years old and he was polite,
As the two chatted for a while.
The Princess found him a delight,
And was happy to see him smile.
A lone lad was odd as a rule,
And she patted him on his head,
Asking why he was not in school,
And in reply the young lad said,

"Getting time off from school is nice."
"I'm kind of glad I got head lice."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Slug Slime

A slug's a snail without a shell,
And so the slime of a slug is
Means to defend itself - do tell!
Keeping nosy out of slug biz,
By numbing those who come too near,
And making unwanted think twice
When the sticky stuff does adhere.
Messing with a slug is not nice.
The slime is also G.P.S.,
Allowing the slug to retrace
Its previous trail backwards, yes,
And to revisit the same place.

Slug slime has purposes of worth,
Including a good "goo"gle earth.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Molt To Do

Penguins do molt, yes penguins do,
Once each year lose all feathers old,
To be replaced by feathers new,
A two week period to unfold.
The first phase is to eat a lot,
In prep for "puffing" it alone.
Being with others is not sought,
Cuz molting is a grumpy zone.
Even the spouse does stay away
To give the molter lots of space,
Who is not a pretty display -
A messy mass in time and place.

The same cute look does reappear,
Until the next molting next year.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Margaret Hamilton

July 20th, '69 -
The first step by man on the moon.
Neil Armstrong did that first step fine,
Thanks to a woman's work fine tune.
Margaret Hamilton led the team
That developed the smart software
To know better, when it did seem
No way to land right then and there.
Abort the mission was almost
Decided as the only choice,
Until that smart software did post
"It's a go" in computer voice.

Thus, there came that first step by man,
Thanks to a woman's software plan.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Treetop Tots - LP Zoo

Primate tots at Lincoln Park Zoo,
All growing up in their first year.
Three monkeys and a lemur too
Bring "oohs" and "aahs" when each appear.
All still sticking close to Mom's side,
But exploring the habitat
More so, bushy tailed and bright eyed,
Honing skills as an acrobat.
Each looking more and more each day
Like the grown ups that each will be,
Full of energy on display,
Each one an awesome sight to see.

Come visit each and ev'ry tot
And keep on coming back a lot.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Seal Keeping - LP Zoo

Ev'ry day at Lincoln Park Zoo
The keepers give me a check up.
I should be grateful that they do,
Cuz I'm no longer a seal pup.
Out of the pool onto a rock,
I do flipper myself so that
The keeper can look and take stock
Of where my well being be at.
A signal is given to me
By the keeper I see and hear.
If good behaving I do be,
Then a thanks reward does appear.

The keepers keep me healthfulish,
And the deal is sealed with a fish.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Polar Bear Keeping - LP Zoo

The keepers keep me on my toes
Ev'ry day at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Each conditioning session goes
A few minutes for me to do
Ups and downs voluntarily,
Checking my state of bod and mind,
To make sure that I stay healthy.
For sure I trust my keeperkind.
Keeper and I are each in place,
Protective mesh wall in between,
Doing our thing face to face,
All in all quite a class act scene.

I have the best of keeper care.
Thanks keepers from this polar bear.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Snowy Owlet it Snow

A snowy owl chick, I was born
With not a flake of snow around.
On a Lincoln Park Zoo June morn
I "egg"sitted to new life bound.
I wondered if the warm weather
Made me gray unlike Mom and Dad,
Covered mostly in white feather.
The folks assured me, I was glad,
Very soon I would be white too.
So just enjoy my new life here,
With people watching at the Zoo.
Will I be watching you appear?

Day by day you can see the sight -
Owl be turning from gray to white.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

A Marriage Blown

Marilyn Monroe shot the scene
Over a New York subway grate
For "Seven Year Itch" movie screen,
Her swirling skirt revealing fate.
Director Billy Wilder did
Fifty takes to get it just right.
A crowd of thousands roared amid
Each revelation panties white.
Joe DiMaggio, also there,
Humiliated by the show,
Stayed through it with a grim faced stare,
While his wife smiled through blow by blow.

An ending marriage reinforced.
Marilyn and Joe soon divorced.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Thoreau Bicentennial

Happy Birthday, Mr. Thoreau,
July twelfth, twenty seventeen,
New born two hundred years ago.
Is Walden Pond still on the scene?
Yes - in a Massachusetts park,
Where on a hot day in July,
Bunches of people do embark
To have fun at the beach - or try!
Backed up traffic causes delay,
A lot of noise and trash around,
A simpler life - there is no way,
If today you're Walden Pond bound.

Check back another hundred years,
Odds are Walden Pond disappears.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Change of Degree

What to do about climate change?
A question the young ask the old.
The answer is to rearrange
Life getting older, young are told.
Having one less child is a way
To make lesser carbon imprint,
But not a p.c. thing to say,
Even though the most consequent
If each old had had one less child.
A lot of the young would not be,
But statistics would be compiled
For climate change positively.

When the young are old and asked why
The climate's bad - honest reply?

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Adapt Unwrapped - LP Zoo

An African penguin like me
Has adapted to water world.
If you look closely you can see
Adapting ways and means unfurled.
Dark feathers on my back do make
It hard from above to detect.
My underside light feathers take
A blend into the sea connect,
To protect me from threat below.
The pink patching around my eyes
Aid me to keep cool as I go
Through the water - I climatize!

Come to Lincoln Park Zoo and find
Close encounters of a bird kind.