Christmas at the Zoo
an elephant
sprays powdered snow
from his trunk
I go home singing
Joy to the World
polar bears
tumbling around
in the new snow
like teenage brothers
waiting for Christmas dinner
penguin house
I walk one direction
they swim the other
but none of us
can find the exit
zoo entrance
the guy putting up
Christmas decorations
tempted to throw some garland
on the flamingos
no one but me
at orangutan island
I turn my back
and a snowball lands
inches from my feet
I spend
half the morning
in the parrot house
trying to teach them
how to sing Jingle Bells
Christmas Eve
the star of Bethlehem
shining overhead
all the camels awake
and ready to go...
one of the keepers
giving the grizzlies
candy canes
while another one
takes them away
new snow
I look for fifteen minutes
but can't find
a single white tiger
anywhere
a gorilla
sitting quietly
in the falling snow
starts to resemble
my garden buddha
~