Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Space Shot for Shatner

Stat Trek's Captain Kirk went to space,

William Shatner, 90 years old,

Did take a trip in time and place,

Real Earth from above to behold.

Oldest person to space to date,

Bill did seem humbled by it all,

Calling the experience great,

Happy to have gotten the call.

No longer just a fiction plot,

Space travel is reality.

The final frontier will be sought.

What was imagined now will be.

Unlike Twilight Zone episode,

No creature on the plane wing showed.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 New Girls in Town - LP Zoo

Zari, Hasira, Cleo be

Three young lioness sisters who 

Are now out and about to see

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo

The three three year olds do seem at

The point of having settled in

The renovated habitat.

Time for connections to begin.

Resting upon the rocks on high,

The girls are curious about

Human visitors walking by.

They'll get more used to it no doubt.

It's great to have the sisters grace

With presence in this time and place.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Watching Peeps - LP Zoo

People watching I like to do.

They come up to the window close

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.

This activity does engross

Me many times throughout my day.

All I do is just show up and

Lots of people come on display.

Some are moving and some just stand.

Yes, I do get a kick out of

All of the people that I see,

Short ones below, tall ones above,

Staring at the lioness - me!

After a while I realize

I am sleepy and close my eyes.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

 A Shaker Shaken

Living in a building next to

Some railroad tracks, I did become

Used to the sounds the trains would do,

And the building would vibrate some.

One day I noticed a stopped train

Right outside of my window there.

I felt vibrations on the gain

Of the building and was aware

Something real weird was going on.

How could the non-moving train be

Causing shake phenomenon?

For a moment it puzzled me.

Then I did see the stopped train shake,

And realized 'twas an earthquake.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Bright Sight - LP Zoo

I'm a Nicobar pigeon who

Does want to brighten up your day

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.

So come look for me on display.

The Bird House is where I am at.

Come in and keep on walking till

You're in the Free Flight habitat,

Where I'll be moving or be still.

Right away you will notice my

Metallic colored hues so bright,

Shining if perched or on the fly,

All in all a colorful sight.

You will know your trip's been worthwhile,

As on your face I'll see you smile.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Recycle Movement

It just seems common sense to me

That electricity and gas,

Helped by all of humanity,

Can and should be produced en masse.

Technology has been evolved

To make waste matter turn into

Clean energy - the problem solved

Just by doing what humans do.

No more fuel shortage with high price.

Conversion of waste matter is

A way to make the future nice

Just by humans doing their biz.

The more saving I can recoup

The more I hit the head to poop.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Jabari at Sunset - LP Zoo

Jabari, Lion King, does do

A westward watch of the sunset,

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

Atop the highest rock to let

Him get the best view that he can

From the new place he now calls home,

Beneath - the renovated span

With lots of space where he may roam.

He watches as the humans go

From the Zoo on this ending day.

There is peace and quiet and so

Jabari takes some time to stay.

Tomorrow east will gaze his eyes,

Jabari will watch the sunrise.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Harvey

Elwood P. Dowd, a happy drunk,

Calls me his best buddy and friend,

Causing his family to thunk

That Elwood is nearing wit's end.

Often at the neighborhood bar

Elwood does seem to be alone.

But it's accepted that we are

Together though I am not shown.

Martinis the two of us sip

And talk about the two of us,

Enjoying an awesome friendship.

His family makes too much fuss.

Only certain people can see

The ten foot bunny that I be.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Party Time

At the department store midnight

When staff and customers are gone

It is a time to my delight,

After hours party is on.

A bunch of us throughout the store

Magically do come alive.

All aisles turn into a dance floor

With moves of rock, boogie and jive.

Lots of plastic hips swing around,

And arms are flailing through the air.

It's quite an awesome sight and sound.

Heads go bald from the flying hair.

Since gender neutral now is in,

I'm a happy personaquin.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Swimming Monkey - LP Zoo

An Allen's swamp monkey, I do

Have webbed fingers and toes so that,

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

I'm oft in water habitat,

Where thanks to the webbing I can

Swim in the water very well,

Enabled with hand and feet span

To swim like fish for quite a spell.

My kind in the wild can evade

Predators by taking a dive,

Using water skill as an aid

To continue to stay alive.

In the Primate House I do be.

I hope that you will visit me.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 What's in a Name? - LP Zoo

Called a panda, I'm really not.

My kind got named mistakenly.

Long ago some human guy thought

I was a panda, so named me.

Today, humans now believe that

We're in a family alone,

And not bear or raccoon or cat,

But classified on our own.

Yet we are called red panda still.

The misnomer is so widespread,

The name has stuck and always will.

The name is partly right - we're red!

So I'm a red panda to you.

Visit me at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Sibling Stuff - LP Zoo

Mondika and Djeke, bros two,

Are young gorilla playsters that,

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

Run and jump through the habitat.

They love to tease their sisters so

The sisters will try to give chase.

Then up and off the brothers go,

Leading all in a merry race.

The two year old brothers do give

Their older sisters a good run,

This  letting their sisters relive

Those younger days of constant fun.

When the sisters find it a bore

Then the brothers tease them some more. 

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 A Trip to a Trip - LP Zoo

A group of goats is called a trip,

And tripping these goats like to do,

All together in comradeship

At Lincoln Park Farm in the Zoo.

They gather in the goatyard for

Daily dose of frolic and fun,

Playing and butting heads galore,

One goat for all, all goats for one.

They like to watch the guests go by,

As they come to visit the Farm.

The goats show off and are not shy

In providing lots of goat charm.

Take a trip to the goat trip and

Connecting with them will be grand.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Black Onyx

Goddess, Venus, did ask her son,

Cupid, if he would do a job.

Cutting her nails needed be done.

Fingers and toes had grown a gob.

So Cupid used an arrow to

Cut Mom's nails and they did fall from

Mount Olympus changing their hue

To black gemstones in mortaldom.

Greeks considered the stones divine,

And shaped and polished them to be

Showed off as possessions most fine,

Shiny black art and jewelry.

Called onyx meaning nail in Greek,

Divine pieces mortals would seek.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

 Ivory Billed Woodpecker

One wild wood pecking sound has stilled,

Last heard in 1944

A woodpecker, ivory billed,

Is deemed extinct forevermore.

Many have claimed to hear and see

This woodpecker from time to time.

But no sure evidence does be.

Finding a live one has been prime.

The theory is that logging led

To lots fewer forest trees that

New woodpeckers stopped being bred

Because of loss of habitat.

But the woodpecker still is sought.

Finding one - maybe, maybe not.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Dream of Pink - LP Zoo

A Chilean flamingo who

Is still in a juvenile way

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo

Has feathers that are fluffy grey.

But as the youngster does grow up

Time and diet does assure that

The feathers will turn bright pink - yup!

But meanwhile in the habitat

The youngster must just wonder why

It is not pink like Mom and Dad.

All the youngster can do is sigh

And dream about being pink clad.

And as the youngster does mature,

Pink will replace the grey for sure.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Rollie Turns 25 - LP Zoo

Rollie turns 25 years old.

Gorilla Mom to children two,

A daughter and son in her fold

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.

Nayambi and Mondika be

Helping their Mom to celebrate

By keeping her good company,

And showing how both think she's great.

Rollie does take it all in stride,

But like the good Mom that she is,

She is filled with maternal pride,

And goes about doing Mom biz.

Mom Rollie - a Happy Birthday.

You know your kids want you to play.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

 Spelled Upon

I came upon a scary scene,

A witch coven standing around

Burning pumpkins on Halloween.

What weird ritual had I found?

I should have run away but I

Was curious to wait and see

If I would know the reason why

There was this witch activity.

Around the fire the witches danced,

But suddenly one looked my way.

And then the whole coven advanced.

I could not move and had to stay.

I watched myself go up in flame,

A burning pumpkin I became.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

 Fateful Colors

In Asian folklore it is said

That a twosome forever be

Tied to marriage by a red thread

That does exist unbreakably.

My new wife did tell me this tale,

And I believed that she was right.

I felt like the luckiest male.

Our future seemed very bright.

But one day in the bathtub, I

Did get a real shock from my wife.

Electrocuted, I did die,

This ending my wedded bliss life.

My red string tie was cut quite short

By a black widow killer sort.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Kennedi's Arrived - LP Zoo

I'm Kennedi, snow leopard, new

To the animal neighborhood

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

Getting bearings, so far so good.

Being a solitary gal

I like the feeling of alone,

So pick a secluded locale

That I can call my very own.

And then I watch what's going on.

Lots of visitors walk my way,

A look for me phenomenon.

When they spot me, I've made their day.

Being spotted is fine with me,

Because spotted I'll always be.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

 Second Thoughts

I'm looking down in me in bed.

All around are my family.

They're grieving because I am dead.

Their attention is all on me.

Mom and Dad, they both look so sad,

And my brothers and sisters too.

Just watching them makes me feel bad.

They seem to care more than I knew.

I thought they hated me for all

The rotten stuff that I had done.

I felt unloved and built a wall,

Keeping out each and ev'ry one.

I'm regretting that I have died,

Second guessing my suicide.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Getting positioned - LP Zoo

An Amazon milk frog, I do

Be quite the awesome acrobat

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

Swinging throughout my habitat.

I swing from tree limb to tree limb

Using my sticky toe pads for

Adhering to the wood prelim

To swinging through the air some more,

Until I get to the limb where

I decide to stay for a while,

And tuck myself quite comfy there,

A way up in a tree, high style.

I watch what's going on below,

Watch the visitors come and go.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Antonin Careme

Antonin Careme would be

A French cooking extraordinaire

And the first chef celebrity

Bringing haute cuisine to share.

Early eighteen hundreds he rose

To gain international fame

With his flamboyant banquet shows

And pastry shops that bore his name.

Several books he authored for

The general public, so his

Food creations could be made more,

Making him tops in food showbiz.

Unventilated kitchens, his doom,

He died from breathing too much coal fume.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

 Stygian Owl

I flashed my flashlight on a tree

While taking a walk late one night.

A pair of red eyes glared at me,

Indeed it was a fearsome sight,

Like the devil decided to

Be found by me for my turn's death,

A hell bound trip for me to do.

The thought did take away my breath.

And with those eyes then came a howl

In high screeching and piercing sound.

All were from a Stygian owl,

A quite elusive bird I'd found.

When noting I'd chosen to stay,

This "ghost owl" chose to fly away.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

 Backyard Folly

A treehouse for my kids I built.

It started out on a small scale,

But soon became a patchwork quilt

Of additions in great detail.

Three bedroom, two bath it became,

A kitchen and living room, yes.

Comfort for my kids was my aim.

They surely deserved nothing less.

An elevator, down and up,

Plumbing and electricity,

A library and game room - yup!

No longer could be seen the tree.

My neighbors call it a disgrace,

And my kids won't go near the place.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Weed the Winner

U.S.A. waged war on weed,

Even though Founding Fathers grew

The stuff, for what purpose indeed!

But anti weed folks did accrue.

Marijuana became outlawed,

Banned as a hazard to all health,

Impairing soul and mind and bod.

Black market sellers made great wealth,

While small users were sent to jail,

Punished severely for the crime.

The prisons filled on this same tale.

But weed won the war over time.

Legality came for the toke,

Less paranoia in the smoke.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 New to the Neighborhood - LP Zoo

I've just been here a short while - new,

Getting used to what it's like now

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

A lot for me to take in - wow!

This red panda's finding my groove

Slowly but surely where I'm at,

More and more comfy with the move,

Exploring my new habitat.

The keepers do seem a fine bunch.

I'm getting ev'rything  I need,

Lots of good food on which to munch.

All in all, I feel fine indeed.

During the day I peek to see

Who all has come to visit me.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Mom and Daughter Stuff - LP Zoo

Snow monkeys, Mom and Daughter, do

A grooming family affair

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

A loving bond that they both share.

"You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours,"

Is something Mom and Daughter feel.

It's more than just mere daily chores.

It is a special social deal.

Groomer and groomed, they take turns each,

'Specially in areas that

Are hard for snow monkeys to reach,

To scratch right where the itch is at.

Mom and Daughter, they do not mind

Their grooming watched by humankind.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Taking My Turn - LP Zoo

Standing atop a rock I do

My meerkat duty standing guard,

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo,

For predators - the job's not hard.

No swooping down of big birds that

In the wild would grab us as prey.

We're safe here in this habitat.

But by instinct we still display

The taking turns to watch around

As sentinel, eyes to the sky,

Cuz we meerkats be duty bound

To constantly be on standby.

Sentinel duty's not much fun,

But is a job that must be done.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Bird's Eye View - LP Zoo

From their perch, Bali mynahs, two,

Are watching with their blue patched eyes

Here at home in Lincoln Park Zoo.

Their world around, the birds surmise.

Especially they're watching for

The serving of a tasty snack

Brought by the keepers through the door.

Noting such time, they have a knack.

At the same time each afternoon

The keeper comes with an array

Of goodies, that will happen soon.

The Bali mynahs watch away.

Ah yes, here comes the keeper now.

The watch is over, time for chow.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

 We're Under Pressure

We the people be in the streets,

Homeless, helpless, hopeless be we

The castaways from life's defeats.

All around the nation we be.

U.S. - richest nation on Earth

Often talks about our plight,

But measures us by what it's worth

As an election issue fight.

We are the same flesh and blood of

The rich and powerful by fate.

We know that we are tough to love,

And know we are easy to hate.

It will take a united task,

Some understanding's all we ask.