Welcome to the Zoo
Baby kangaroo peeks out from his mother’s pouch
Hanging with Kangaroos by Shelly Blankman
April 2024 Kangaroo Crossing at the San Antonio Zoo
No metal bars, trenches, or windows to separate us
from them. Just wide-open space, where they thump
softly through red sand, whooshing past us with a baby
known as a joey or two tucked in their pouches.
Others laze in the sun, young joeys, still in their pouches,
peeking out with their deep brown eyes lined with lush
lashes, open for the first time. Older ones are never far
away, ready to retreat to the pouch when they are hungry.
No fear of predators or loud noises. Or other animals.
They speak in quiet grunts and groans, clicks and coughs.
We settle in the red sand next to them, as if we’re part
of their family. They let us pet their wooly fur that’s smooth
as velvet and smells like coffee beans. As we leave, we
hear the muted sound of a sneeze. It’s the voice of a baby
whose limbs are too weak for her to emerge from the pouch.
She will make her debut when her limbs are strong enough.
I wish we could stay there long enough to greet her.
Here They Come! By Alarie Tennille
May 18, 2020, Kansas City Zoo
While humans are quarantined,
penguins get their first tour
of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Tiny tourists in tuxedos burst
into the galleries.
The paintings look down from their frames,
silently chuckling. They miss visitors
as much as these new Friends of Art,
who gawk back at them
with equal wonder.
The zoo guests prove to be
discerning critics. Water lilies?
Not part of their habitat.
But John the Baptist?
Him they can relate to.
Caravaggio captures the fatigue
of a tired dad, trying to keep up
with toddlers. Drooping in the heat,
he sits slumped, splayed legs,
happy to stay right there,
watching them for hours.
First published in Three A.M. at the Museum
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/penguins-get-private-tour-of-kansas-city-art-museum-closed-during-pandemic