Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Shaker - LP Zoo

My tail feathers I like to shake,
As through the water I do go,
Leaving wild ripples in my wake,
As I put on my water show.
Around and round I splash and splish,
Body a flapping in and out.
Some might call me a feathered fish,
But I be a penguin, no doubt.
Feathers on my back do be black.
Feathers on my belly be white.
And I flip from belly to back -
A dynamo that's dyn-O-mite.

I shake, rattle and roll for you,
Watching me at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Ride Out the Storm

I landed in Houston and found
Hurricane Harvey here with me.
The rain and wind were all around.
I needed some transport to flee.
A cab was moving down the street.
So through the window I did go,
And perched in the passenger seat.
A wide eyed cabbie - doncha know!
But that cabbie did get me through
The worst of Harvey Hurricane.
In thanks I wondered what to do,
Cuz I had no words to explain.

While in the cab I did not talk.
I'm Harvey the Hurricane hawk.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

A Rock in Hand - LP Zoo

I hold a rock in hand, I do.
I watch humans watch me do so
Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.
Humans seem puzzled, doncha know!
The rock - to eat or not to eat?
That is the question of the day.
Is this rock really a taste treat?
Humans think weird, in a fun way.
The rock I continue to hold
As though tiz a serious task.
Try to keep my giggles controlled
At silly stuff the humans ask.

I guess it comes as no real shock,
I do not plan to eat the rock.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

The Monkees

The Monkees came to NBC,
Aired '66 to '68,
And fifty years later still be
Timeless Monkeemania great.
On the coattails of Beatles rave,
Came to the fore the Pre-Fab Four.
To NBC The Monkees gave
Censorship annoyance galore.
One episode was about hell,
A word on T.V. not to peep.
Over again The Monkees tell
The taboo word to network bleep.

The Monkees was, The Monkees is
Still selling strong The Monkees biz.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Den Mother Maybe - LP Zoo

September is the time of year
When female polar bears do den.
Maternal instincts reappear
For maybe cubbing, if and when.
Earlier this year I came to
Hopefully meet my Mr. Right,
Right here at the Lincoln Park Zoo,
And make a bundle of delight.
Could maybe happen, maybe not.
I'll be prepared in any case.
Den making will go from just thought
To den made in good time and place.

Pregnant - to be or not to be.
If so, will be the first for me.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

American Jaguar

The American jaguar did
Once in the southwest U.S. roam.
But human culprits caused to rid
The jaguar from this long time home.
Now, a few migrant jaguars crossed
To the U.S. from Mexico,
An opportunity once lost
To let a species freely go.
A wary one the jaguar be.
A sighting of one is quite rare.
But conservation usefully,
More jaguars will come here from there.

Of course the building of a wall,
And likely no jaguars at all.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Li'l Orphan Lizzie

He and she had a one night stand,
And then they both went on their way.
I do not know if I was planned.
I just showed up new be one day.
An offspring that somehow got sprung,
Instinctively I stayed alive,
Making my way as orphaned young,
Growing with the will to survive.
So I had no parents around,
I really see no point to blame.
As I mature where I am bound,
I will probably do the same.

It makes this lizard somewhat sad -
Never knowing my Mom and Dad.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Elvis Does Ed

'50's most watched T.V. broadcast -
First time on Ed Sullivan's show,
Elvis Presley swung forth to blast
A new sound and sight to and fro.
A performance filled with taboo
Of overtones of sex and race,
This young sexy white boy did do
A new blend in this time and place.
The audience sure did want more,
So Ed paid Elvis a big check,
And Elvis rocked and rolled galore
To Ed's amazement - what the heck!

"Love Me Tender" was sung first time,
And Elvis did begin his climb.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

No Name Hurricane

September 2nd, '35,
A no name hurricane did hit
Key West - the worst storm to arrive
Before or since as records sit.
Key West was being turned into
A rebuilt tourist attraction.
World War I vets were there to do
The labor that had to be done.
Not warned by the powers that be.
The worker vets - no time to go.
The hurricane's intensity
Gave the living a savage blow.

The hurricane blew vets away -
Hundreds were killed that Labor Day.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Luigi - LP Zoo

I am Luigi, one year old.
And for a sloth that's time to be
Out on my own so I am told.
So primates share their space with me.
A pied tamarin couple, nice,
Named Izabel and Mario,
Who, older give me good advice
On diversity, doncha know!
And I do give feedback in turn,
So the tamarins understand
That from me there much to learn -
Food to my mouth from keeper's hand.

Since I am young and slow I get
Special room service - I am set!

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Resentful Cary

Cary Grant was a movie star
Who analogized Hollywood
Being like a moving streetcar.
He held on as best as he could,
Watching others get off and on.
Some managed to get on and stay.
Some were pushed off and were just gone.
Grant got a seat along the way,
But said he gave it up to her,
To Joan Fontaine, his costar in
"Suspicion." Grant had to endure
Being out of joint - his cleft chin.

Joan won an Oscar for her role.
Cary lost and carried that toll.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Fish Wish - LP Zoo

All we African penguins do
Come together at eating time
And place at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Of course the main course be fish prime,
Served by the keeper buffet style
To penguin beak from keeper hand,
One at a time, sort of in file,
Pecking at supply with demand.
At least be one fish for each bird,
Some have seconds and some may skip.
Keeper up on the job preferred,
The policy is not to tip.

We penguins share a common wish -
Whatever be, let there be fish.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Striping Forth - LP Zoo

A plains zebra, I'm quite a sight,
Stripes striping every which way
In all directions, black and white,
I be a dizzying display.
In Africa where I am from
A "quagga" is how I am termed,
Which sounds like my call of welcome.
Listen close and will be confirmed.
Why my stripes? - you can make a guess.
Humans like guessing, humans do.
I will not answer no or yes -
My secret at Lincoln Park Zoo.

The humans see me and are awed -
As plains as the stripes on my bod.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Zoohackathon - LP Zoo

Zoohackathon is meant to be
A time and place to brainstorm for
Finding solutions that are key
To stop all poaching any more.
Illegal wildlife traffic trade
Threatens endangered species such
That outsmart bad guys must be made
By good guys focused to solve much.
Computer systems can be used
To hack into the means of crime,
To buy and sell species abused,
And solve this problem over time.

Hackathon at Lincoln Park Zoo.
This rhino's happy to hack too!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

All in Favor - Sneeze

African wild dogs live in packs.
Their lives of course are filled with barks.
Also their sneezes have impacts,
For voting on their hunting larks.
The dogs do rally for the choice
Of whether to now hunt or not.
A sneeze does count as a yes voice.
If most do sneeze, then hot to trot.
But if most do not make a sound,
Then that rally does fizzle, so
The dogs do find some shady ground,
And off to pack nap they do go.

To hunt or not to hunt - that is
A sneeze count - democratic biz!

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Violet Turaco - LP Zoo

Violet turaco be me,
Named for the turacin pigment.
Found in various plants it be,
Producing color I present.
In Africa are found my kind,
Which are not known for top notch flight.
But my feet have been well designed
To navigate tree branches right.
My outer toes move front or back,
Front to run, back to perch - toe goes
To make for balance and fast track -
Semizyodactylous toes!

Visit me at Lincoln Park Zoo,
And see the wonders my toes do.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

La Tomatina

Began in 1945
In the small town of Bunol, Spain,
"La Tomatina" came alive,
Through the air - a tomato rain.
Was on a Wednesday, August's last.
Young people got into a fight,
Grabbing tomatoes that were cast
At each other - a messy sight.
Since then, does happen ev'ry year.
Thousands of folks in on the act.
Tons of tomatoes do appear
For body to body contact.

Thrown tomatoes about be spread,
As one and all paint the town red.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Close Encounter - LP Zoo

We, South African penguins, do
Human encounters twice a day,
Connecting at Lincoln Park Zoo
In an informative, fun way.
We waddle 'round amongst the feet
Of humans doing human stuff.
Our job is to meet and greet.
We're compensated fair enough,
As entertainers one and all.
Our show must go on, gee whiz!
We never know who'll get the call
To come on stage - but that's show biz.

Close encounters of a bird kind.
Human feet smell - but we don't mind.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Overtime - LP Zoo

After hours, Lincoln Park Zoo,
Humans are usually gone.
A break time for this kangaroo,
From the human phenomenon.
But Twilight Safari tonight
Has got some humans still on scene.
I guess they've paid for the delight
Of "roo"minising 'twixt and 'tween
The dusk and dawn of time and place,
When crowds of humans have gone home.
I'll watch these few in any case.
Unwatched humans do tend to roam.

Ah, good, I see they've all strolled by.
At last I can get some shut eye.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Eclipse Point of View - LP Zoo

The solar eclipse '17,
Supposed to be a big to do.
So this chimp will be on the scene,
"Sun"sitive at Lincoln Park Zoo,
Watching humans watching the sun,
All with those goofy glasses on.
Watching humans is so much fun,
A crack me up phenomenon.
I know a camera's on me.
How will the eclipse make me change?
I'm thinking up ways I might be
On their radar for acting strange.

One thing I'll be checking, no doubt,
Eclipse could bring the crickets out.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis was born to be
An entertainer through and through.
Known best for zany comedy,
Jerry was one of a kind, true.
For decades, the telethon host,
Muscular dystrophy the cause,
Helping "Jerry's kids" uppermost,
No matter how much the applause.
A showman on the stage and screen,
T.V., records and radio,
Jerry Lewis was heard and seen,
Eight decades he put on his show.

Jerry died at age 91.
He left a legacy of fun.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

ZIP - LP Zoo

There is ZIP at Lincoln Park Zoo,
The Zoo Intern Program for short,
Made up of teenagers who do
Zoo learning skills of ev'ry sort.
Some ZIP teens decided to make
Enrichment for the polar bears.
In the wild, polar bears do break
A lot of ice with rips and tears,
In order to find food to eat.
So the ZIPs designed a tower
Of ice filled with polar bear treat,
Consumed with tooth and claw power.

The young Zoo interns really learn,
Enriching polar bears in turn.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Fischer v Spassky

Bobby Fischer for the U.S.
Boris Spassky for U.S.S.R.
A Cold War battlefield of chess,
1972 - grand spar.
In Reykjavik, Iceland - the match
Of the century did take place.
The mind game strategies did hatch,
As West and East came face to face.
Fischer did win and did inspire
The image of a hero lone
Conquering the evil empire -
Just a game a bit overblown.

Chess had never known such suspense,
And chess has never known such since.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Harvey Hits Houston

Harvey hurled Houston into hell.
The hurricane with rain did storm.
Over four feet of water fell
In just two days - hardly the norm.
And Houston was not built to be
Ready for such water to flow.
Millions of people felt Harvey.
No time, no place for all to go.
A Harvey, once upon a time,
Came only once 500 years.
But now because of warming clime -
A Harvey repeat, Houston fears.

And so now what will Houston do
When soon returns a Harvey two?

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

On a Rattle Roll - LP Zoo

Let's celebrate a rattlesnake,
The eastern massasauga kind,
Who has been getting a fair shake
By some of conservation mind.
This endangered species has found
A new lease in life habitat,
In the Great Lakes area bound,
In eco friendly where they're at.
A healthy population be
Living and growing year by year,
As human studies do agree,
Cause for conservation to cheer.

Lincoln Park Zoo has helped in this.
Thank you in a rattle and hiss.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Villisca Axe Murders

In 1912, the month of June,
Villisca, Iowa, the town,
The Moore family - bodies strewn,
A bloodied axe brought them all down.
While they slept in their home at night,
Murdered while each was in their bed,
Found the next morn, a gruesome sight,
Parents and the six children dead.
Never solved was this grisly crime.
A few suspects did come and go.
As was, the house still stands through time,
The who done it to never know.

And in the house seen to this day,
A bloody axe in air does sway.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Preston is 9 - LP Zoo

Preston, the penguin, nine years old.
Here's a Happy Birthday to you.
You're looking beautiful and bold
At home in the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Who could not love that feathered face,
That wistful smile from bearing beak,
A look of take charge of this place,
The waddle boss, no tongue in cheek.
As alpha male you lead the bunch
Through all the doings of each day.
Of course you are first fed at lunch.
That is the pecking order way.

The penguins know that by and large
You, Preston, are the bird in charge.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Weave in Eclipse

August 21st, '17
Be a total solar eclipse.
Some human scientists convene
To watch this spider give some tips
On how this event may impact
What I do with my web. Will I
Destroy my web in confused act?
Humans seem so compelled to spy!
And so while they are watching me,
I reweave strands so as to psych
Out the humans, as I make be
A real good Jesus look a like.

My web on the Web I believe
Is my You Tube way to deceive.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Red and Yellow Barbet - LP Zoo

Red and yellow barbet be me.
Flying from place to place I do.
A bird from Africa I be
Visiting the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Barb like bristles be on my beak,
Help me eat, thus the name barbet,
For all the seeds and bugs I seek.
First I barb 'em and then I "et."
Mostly feathered yellow and red
But too black plumage with white spots.
I am quite colorful tiz said.
Yes, I am complimented lots.

The notes of my song are mellow,
Repeat sound like "red n' yellow."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Le Petomane

Joseph Pujol,a talent had -
A professional flatulist.
So a stage name Joseph did add -
Le Petomane which meant the gist
Of him, a "farting maniac."
Into his butt he pulled in air,
Then sphincter controlled air flow back,
With all kinds of sound effects there.
'Twere song tunes and animal sounds
From the Moulin Rouge projected,
Where his farting fame knew no bounds,
Loads of rave reviews collected.

Body function turned into art,
Le Petomane was born to fart.