Jonathan

A poem for Jonathan, who sees the zoo through his own unique eyes... :o)


jonathan at the zoo


shrewd felines wink conspiratorially
sagacious apes soundlessly beckon
meerkats hint at secrets unbidden
but the stalwart owl reveals nothing

nimble elephants dance a merry jig while
stately giraffes converse in rhyme
placid fish take fight beyond
the long reach of resolute penguins

peacocks dabble in vain pursuits
bears stifle giggles behind huge paws
zebras heckle neighboring gazelles
and the croc nods his head in approval

but animals aren’t the only ones who speak here

sidewalks tug at your feet
compelling you against restraint
“hurry, boy, lest you miss
the antics of these affable beasts”

Heat, Humidity & Profanity

For any of you not local to the Portland area, our summers are relatively mild, with typically maybe a dozen days of temps over 90 degrees, and only three or four 100+ degree days each summer. This weekend, we had three of those 100 degree days in a row. Now you might not think that's so bad, but I assure you, central air conditioning is not common around here given the usual climate. To make matters worse, I live in a 3rd floor dwelling, where the heat accumulates readily. One hot day won't totally ruin my indoor temps, but three sure will!

It was somewhere in the high 80's inside my apartment by Saturday night, and I was sweating while sitting still doing nothing. The cats at least generally had the good sense to avoid cuddling, so as not to combine our heat and increase it exponentially.

I was so desperate to escape the heat that I actually stopped watching the Olympics to go to a movie. I have been so entranced by the gymnastics and swimming events, that the last 10 days have left me sleep-deprived and thus relatively grateful that this only happens every four years (or every two if you count the Winter Games). :o)

I took a chance on "Tropic Thunder," the concept of which looked fairly funny. I was sorely disappointed... not by a lack of humor - the audience was certainly laughing - but by a level of vulgarity that made all other Stiller movies seem like Pixar flicks. This was a 1 hour 46 minute "f-word" marathon. The rare lines which didn't contain that particular adjective/verb/adverb/noun - they used it in more ways than I had ever imagined!- substituted euphamisms for male genitalia instead. By the end, I thought my ears must be bleeding. I really felt like a worse person for having watched it.

It's unfortunate that the writers chose to take it that route, because the concept was definitely funny, it was very well cast (Kudos to Robert Downey Jr!), and had the potential to be a laughable farse. Instead, I needed "brain bleach" afterwards to rid myself of the parade of expletives and graphic depictions of sexual favors.

Anyway, moving on to more pleasant territory... There is now large a cold front pushing out the hot air (hooray!), and resulting in some rip-roaring thunderstorms, reminiscent of when I lived in Nebraska as a kid. So with the weather somewhere in the high 60's right now, it's time for me to head home and catch up on laundry and other heat-creating household chores, not to mention catching up on 3 day worth of kitty snuggles. >^..^<