by Pa Rock
Poetry Appreciator
Everything remains delightfully up-to-date in Kansas City, even if the pandemic has temporarily closed some of the city's finer cultural attractions. This past week, in fact, there was a cross-cultural experience in Kansas City that was covered by national and international news sites and brought smiles and bursts of light into these dark times.
Swope Park Zoo has been closed for several weeks and members of the public are not the only ones mourning the lost zoo experience. The animals housed in the zoo are missing their interactions with the zoo's visitors. The nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has also been closed ever since the pandemic began casting is foreboding shadow across the land.
All of that changed this week - just a little - when three lucky residents of the zoo were allowed to take a special private tour of the Nelson-Atkins. The guests, Humboldt penguins from Chile and Peru, were able to roam the museum at their own pace and view the paintings. The museum's director, Julian Zugazagoitia, showed respect to his South American guests by addressing them in Spanish as they waddled along enjoying the beautiful paintings.
The museum director said that the penguins seemed to appreciate art history and that they definitely showed a preference for the works of Caravaggio over those of Monet.
The zoo's director, Randy Wisthoff, said in the video of the visit that the animals at Swope Park have really missed the visitors at the zoo. He said that he and the zoo staff were always looking for ways to enrich the lives of the residents of the zoo - and that the three lucky penguins "absolutely loved" their escape to the museum.
(And while a video was made of the penguin's visit to the museum, this is one of those stories where you just know there will soon be a major movie in the works!)
Today's poetry selection is actually a pair of works, both entitled "At the Zoo." The first, by 19th century poet and author William Makepeace Thackeray (the author of "Vanity Fair"), and the second by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, two preeminent poets and songwriters of the mid-twentieth century.
Enjoy your zoo experience!
At the Zoo
by William Makepeace Thackeray
First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;
Then I saw the elephant a -waving of his trunk;
Then I saw the monkeys - mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt!
At the Zoo
by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
Someone told me
It's all happening at the zoo
I do believe it
I do believe it's true
It's a light and tumble journey
From the East Side to the park;
Just a fine and fancy ramble to the zoo
But you can take the crosstown bus
If it's raining or it's cold
And the animals will love it
If you do
If you do now
Something tells me
It's all happening at the zoo
I do believe it
I do believe it's true
The monkeys stand for honesty
Giraffes are insincere
And the elephants are kindly but they're dumb
Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum
Zebras are reactionaries
Antelopes are missionaries
Pigeons plot in secrecy
And hamsters turn on frequently
What a gas! You gotta come and see
At the zoo
At the zoo
At the zoo
At the zoo
Poetry Appreciator
Everything remains delightfully up-to-date in Kansas City, even if the pandemic has temporarily closed some of the city's finer cultural attractions. This past week, in fact, there was a cross-cultural experience in Kansas City that was covered by national and international news sites and brought smiles and bursts of light into these dark times.
Swope Park Zoo has been closed for several weeks and members of the public are not the only ones mourning the lost zoo experience. The animals housed in the zoo are missing their interactions with the zoo's visitors. The nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has also been closed ever since the pandemic began casting is foreboding shadow across the land.
All of that changed this week - just a little - when three lucky residents of the zoo were allowed to take a special private tour of the Nelson-Atkins. The guests, Humboldt penguins from Chile and Peru, were able to roam the museum at their own pace and view the paintings. The museum's director, Julian Zugazagoitia, showed respect to his South American guests by addressing them in Spanish as they waddled along enjoying the beautiful paintings.
The museum director said that the penguins seemed to appreciate art history and that they definitely showed a preference for the works of Caravaggio over those of Monet.
The zoo's director, Randy Wisthoff, said in the video of the visit that the animals at Swope Park have really missed the visitors at the zoo. He said that he and the zoo staff were always looking for ways to enrich the lives of the residents of the zoo - and that the three lucky penguins "absolutely loved" their escape to the museum.
(And while a video was made of the penguin's visit to the museum, this is one of those stories where you just know there will soon be a major movie in the works!)
Today's poetry selection is actually a pair of works, both entitled "At the Zoo." The first, by 19th century poet and author William Makepeace Thackeray (the author of "Vanity Fair"), and the second by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, two preeminent poets and songwriters of the mid-twentieth century.
Enjoy your zoo experience!
At the Zoo
by William Makepeace Thackeray
First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;
Then I saw the elephant a -waving of his trunk;
Then I saw the monkeys - mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt!
At the Zoo
by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
Someone told me
It's all happening at the zoo
I do believe it
I do believe it's true
It's a light and tumble journey
From the East Side to the park;
Just a fine and fancy ramble to the zoo
But you can take the crosstown bus
If it's raining or it's cold
And the animals will love it
If you do
If you do now
Something tells me
It's all happening at the zoo
I do believe it
I do believe it's true
The monkeys stand for honesty
Giraffes are insincere
And the elephants are kindly but they're dumb
Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum
Zebras are reactionaries
Antelopes are missionaries
Pigeons plot in secrecy
And hamsters turn on frequently
What a gas! You gotta come and see
At the zoo
At the zoo
At the zoo
At the zoo
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