EXTINCTION

    Nonesuch now as zoological gardens wherein
    roamed five fit syllables in the morphemic jungle of the first word
    and a pair of “ohs” long since extinct
    
    —or transformed as the case may be—

    into that breathy note of wonder:

    Oo!—after the ever exotic “Z”

        Few know the furtive root of the current term:
    “Zo-on”—animal—in the essential ancient Greek
    but essence is not necessary to the spectator in the

    palpitating present

    nor the nature of the exhibit behind steel or steely glass
    but only the entertainment expedient where one syllable
    
    —like the surface scratch of amusement spark—
    
    will do just fine

-- John Zedolik