Alexander Pepple

Zookeeper’s Zone

from “A—Z Sonnets”

Zoom in where he parades along—
Zookeeper hailing guests for the ride.
Zero in on mandrill’s nose, dyed
Zeugma to face—does it belong?

Zoetrope of sun by distant massifs;
Zigzagging-in gray parrots alight;
Zebras admix their black-and-white
Zones for fluid art nouveau motifs.

Zillions of species, each distinct,
Zygote to zorilla, great and small:
Zanzibar to Zaire, they roam;
Zeitgeber-tuned to fly, walk, crawl—
Zapped though some are, going extinct—
Zealous to keep their shrinking home.

Alexander Pepple is an electrical and software engineer. His poetry, fiction and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Blue Unicorn, Hopkins Review, Rosebud, Euphony, Ecclectica, Light, Chronicles, Per Contra, Think, River Styx, Barrow Street, American Arts Quarterly, Measure, and elsewhere. He founded and edits Able Muse and its related presses, and directs its related Eratosphere online literary workshop. He edited the Able Muse Anthology (Able Muse Press, 2010).