Down shaded pathways
in the cool of the day
a peahen struts.

Barnyard animals
laze in afternoon quiet;
suddenly...childsqueal!

Here in the zoo
no animal beckons me -
I am drawn to water.

Monkey habitat
rush of the waterfall-
I see only ducks.

Looking for birdlife
in their lush sanctuary,
mouse crosses my path.

My eyes following
I see flashes of color -
Roseate spoonbill.

Bright wind and water
sing through eucalyptus trees -
above their song, cockcrow.

Enclosed together
the llama and the emu,
one stalks the fenceline.

That bewildered cock
keeps on heralding morning -
it is long past three!

QUick monkey chatter
wafts on a breeze through the park -
overhead, a jet.

I find the monkeys
away from their habitat -
they smile from cages.

Children seem taken
with this white handed gibbon -
he chatters back.

Here on this parkbench
surrounded by zoosong
I still hear the sea.