The Abecedarian Menagerie

(or why one shouldn’t hire an ataxophobic zookeeper with an alphabetical obsession)

Alligator and antelope, enough already?
Baboon and badger might be a boon, but not boas and bobcats.
Camels, capybara, and caribou I suppose will do but what about cheetah and chimpanzee?
Deer and dingo and dolphin just don’t mix; dragon fly is fine but not the komodo kind.
Elephants, elk, and emu emerge intact but
Falcon and flamingo, fox and frog – I foresee futility.
Giraffe, goat, and goose but, gosh, a grizzly isn’t good.
Hippos – can they herd hyena away from the herons?
Impala, iguana and ibis can co-exist but
Jeez, no jackrabbits with jaguar and jackal.
Kangaroo and koala are almost kin but
Lemming and lemur live not well with leopard, lion and lynx.
Manatee and monkey might manage; mongoose and mouse: mayhem.
Nyala with numbats, not so bad.
Ostrich, otter, and ox ok but best to leave orca in the ocean.
Parakeet, partridge and penguin seem peaceful but puma, python and pelican present problems.
Quail quaintly content themselves while
Rabbit, raccoon, reindeer and rhinoceros wonder where rationality went.
Seal and shark, sidewinder and squirrel, sorry sights surround.
Tigers: quite terrible for tapir and turkey.
Urials, on the other hand, stand utterly alone.
Vicuna and vulture viven en verdant vistas with vexing vipers but
Wolves and warthogs rooming with the wallaby? What about the woodchuck and whale?
Xanthous-bellied marmot? Or empty exhibit?
Yaks yucking it up alone or maybe with that yellow-bellied marmot?
Zorro shouldn’t bother zebra, but perhaps zorilla and zookeeper deserve each other.

©2018 Kenneth W. Arthur