‘Twas brillig

When the flock of swifts
Flew majestically over the arctic sea

When the rolling rhumba of rattlesnakes
Slithered silently on the floors of the rainforest

When the knot of toads unraveled –
Coming to see what the afternoon would bring by the pond

When the descent of woodpeckers descended
Down, down the oak tree

When the gang of elks
And the mob of emus
And mob of kangaroos
Gathered to talk – but not to fight

When the skulk of foxes prowled
Sneaked, slinked, lurked about
In the wooded forest of the north

When the charm of goldfinches
So delightedly enchanted, entranced, fascinated each other

When the band of gorillas marched
And played and sang and danced ensemble

When the merry murmuration of starlings fluttered,
Gaily

When the crash of rhinos so recklessly stomped, stampeded,
And thumped along the dirt roads

When the unkindness of ravens tried to prove to their peers
That they are indeed friendly and genuinely nice

When the murder of crows flew around the treetops
Not to kill, but to have their recreation

When the parliament of owls met
To discuss matters of great importance –
Like who’s next on the prey list

When the bed of oysters laid down to talk
Before they would go to sleep
And hide from the smack of jellyfish
Who were often bullies, slapping other creatures of the sea

When the cry of hounds ran away bashfully
As the leash of greyhounds chased them away

When the kingdom of animals came together –
Schools of fish,
Army of frogs,
And business of ferrets alike –
To share their similarities and differences.

But also at this time –
The lonely lionel sat by himself
The only individual of the throng of humans

He sighed, wishing someone would join him
On this splendid afternoon

‘Twas brillig

When the lonely lionel looked up,
Only to meet the eyes of the abandoned abby
Only to find he wasn’t so lonely after all.