On the noon hour, the electronic carillon
Played the algorithms for “Michelle ma Belle.”
One bird in the sun kept up a repetitive chirp
With a rising intonation, like a teenager
Or a question. I have changed my mind
About life, or about my immediate future
At least. Now, I mean to stay. Life, however,
Changes its mind about no life, so I know
It’s still not really mine to say. But for today,
Daughter in the house with a hacking cough
Watching her favorite mermaid shows, zoo
Visit out of the question despite the sunshine,
Last night’s restless dreams of drowning
In my own trivial plans and failures, abetted
By the usual shadow characters of dreams,
Put away, I’ll sit a spell out in the yard, sunning
And listening to whatever now follows
The carillon, notes gone, algorithms stowed away.
But the zoo was not out of the question, not
For the one with the hacking cough who wanted
To do something fun. So we went, and all
This my pseudometaphysical bullshit aside,
We visited all the exhibits and had a good time.
Daughter rode the snow leopard on the carousel
And scrutinized the actual specimen, as well
As the African lions, the California sea lions,
The howler monkeys, the bobcat, the grizzlies,
The square-lipped rhinos, the markhors,
The otters, the jungle fowl, the silverback gorilla.
The gorilla, for his part, took a seat in the sun
In his backyard enclosure, looking handsome,
And scratched a cheek meditatively, the Godfather
Staring levelly across the vacant air at me.
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