carnivorous nights

About
the Authors

About the Artist

Read the first chapter

Beast of the Month

Links

Buy the book

HEY, YOU! WELCOME TO
THE AMAZING HAIKU ZOO (PART TWO)
IT'S FULL OF (EVEN MORE) STRANGE BEASTS

Here are more entries to the Carnivorous Nights "Beastly Haiku Contest," including the complete entries from some of our prize winners!

Five Haiku

# 1
Thylacine cloning
A non-starter, proving that
Prevention is best.

# 2
When will we learn that
To preserve is human, to
Resurrect, divine?

# 3
Thylacine, distinct
Wide gape, striped body, evolved
Convergent design.

# 4
Will dolphins oneday
Debate the Patterson film
Of the last human?

# 5
Through urban jungles
ET cryptid-hunters search.
Did humans survive?
--Gurpreet Jawa, Raleigh, North Carolina

Four Haiku

Polar bears drowning
Sounds like it could be a joke.
Nope! Global warming!

I saw Bigfoot once.
She was angry with Foucault.
And then I woke up

Texas ocelot.
The state has fewer left than
people on death row.

Bush says pollution
not the problem. Instead it's
air impurities.
--Lynne Wander, Oakland, California

#1 Benjamin

Benjamin, pacing
her cold Domain cage: never
see the Bush again.

#2 Doolagarl Spoor

Wattle afternoon--
Claw Marks on the Gum, musk-stink
stains the clear cool air.

#3 Dreamtime Nightmare

Billabong echoes
as a Dreamtime Nightmare screams
out her defiance.
--Jon Swabey, Flinders Lane, Victoria

A Mini-zoo by Carl Mehling, poet and paleontologist, New York City, New York

Tasmanian beast
Called a tiger in error
Can you forgive us?

Passenger pigeon
Once as common as bison
Until you met us

Pandas and turtles
Extinction’s poster children
Don’t forget the bugs

Organisms gone
And their habitats to boot
Can we try again?

Looking for Nessie
Instead of saving what’s left
It is just our way

Coelacanth cited
Cryptozoologically
Icon of the veiled

We know his big feet
From his footprints in the dirt
Maybe he was small?

I just saw Bigfoot
In fact a whole family
Camera batteries dead

We know his big feet
But he might need a new name
You know what they say ...

Cryptids are for real
They are everywhere on Earth
Most are small insects

The Yeti story
Lacks a voucher specimen
Abominable

Sea monsters are real
Many ferocious species
Millions of years old

If we continue
Despoiling, we, too, will be
Endangered species

This global warming:
It has happened many times
So what if we loose?

Thylacine burned bright
In the forest of the night
Then the forest burned

We better find him
This old Sasquatch character
Before sprawl kills him
--Carl Mehling

Truly good haiku masters usually don't count the syllables as much as listen to the flow and capture motion and stillness in the lines. Or so I've read.

#1
Extended jaw line
Running past extinction
Tail held stiff and straight

#2 'Roo

Mammal with a pouch
Springs and runs on islands
Macropod now grooms

#3: Giant Squid 1

Tentacles from the deep
Pyseter Catodon entree
Elusive Architeuthis

#4 Giant Squid 2

Electrified ship's hull
Verns' imagination runs wild
Giant snapping beak

#5 Giant Squid 3

Backward swimming squid
Silently cutting waters
Jet propelled mollusk

#6 Carnivore

Breath hot and meaty
Carnivore stalks for dinner
Smug little turnips

#8 Ceolcanth 1

Extant old fish
Swimming past extinction
Living, breathing fossils

#9 Ceolcanth 2

Old and cold fish
Monster movie inspiration
Creature in 3-D

#10 Acid Rain

Destruction rains down
Fire Salamander sweat
All frogs disappear

#11 Mokele-Mbembe

No hippos near by
One who stops the flow of rivers
Villagers don't eat

#12 Chupacabra

Little goat sucker
Draining livestock of their blood
Tropical cryptid

#13 Bigfoot

Passing in the night
Footprints and body odor
Speculation thrives

#14 Weta

Tree dwelling insect
Cricket with elephant tusks
Push and shove for mates

#15 Damned River

Otter in the ladder
Eating up all spawning fish
Swim up stream no more

#16 Urban Runoff

Silted river dies
Mono-crop farming continues
Future goes thirsty

#17 Pesticide

Chemical warfare
Increased selective pressure
Insects thrive on

#18 Wollemi Pine

Hidden from extinction
Standing for millions of years
Ceolcanth of trees

"I love both haikus and cryptozoology!"
--Aaron Spriggs, Fort Collins, Colorado

"Life is something that has to be lived and not talked about."
--Carl G. Jung

I've been interested in the thylacine for over 10 years, and would looove to get out in the field searching for it ...

bugger bloody drat
poets pontificate
how can i win that?

terrific tiger
lost for all time thanks to us
yet are we wiser?

did you know, huh, huh?
how many we've sent extinct?
fifty-four critters!

Bye-bye wallaby,
bilby, rat-kangaroo
and thylacine too.

Devourer of sheep,
so said the lying drovers;
pay a pound a scalp.

Did you know devils,
Live in Victoria too?
No-one's game to say!

Dopey dumb dodo
Being so trusting of man.
Your own bloody fault!

Iconoclastic
Aussie Icon - the drop bear!
Surely you're not there!?

By Jove, they're Dodos!
Quick, unlock the safety catch!
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!

Strike a light, tiger!!
Did you see that? Over there!
No, I swear it was!

Bigfoots have big feet
but "bigfeet"'s wrong for bigfoot
call babies "smallfoots"?
--by Chris (youcantryreachingme), Sydney, New South Wales
© 2006

Early morning sunrise
Wild kingdom awaits
Seven elegant white elephants
--Novene Thomas, Washington, DC

The dark silent night
Chimera walks in search of
Those who disbelieve
--Terry Leibel, Watrous, Saskatchewan

"Red Lament"

American horse
the size of a nice large dog
we miss your spirit.
--Connie Craig, Van Nuys, California

dodo bird dodo
bird, wish i could have known you
and the emu too
--F.J., New York, New York

Wolf - white, black, dappled
Feared, loved, respected, mystic
spectre of night light
--Sandra Kropinske, Kamloops, British Columbia

coffee cup in hand
reading the morning paper
do we know we're next

the animagus
imagination brewing
451 burns
--d.goth

Of the world's rare beasts,
the most endangered one is
Kaavya's book career.
--Hank D., via Powell's book blog

Endangered Haiku

"Dear wooly flying squirrel:"
we thought you were gone;
see big bodies glide through trees--
ah, you’re welcomed back!

Cyprus spiny mouse--
Do you hide? We can’t find you.
Are you gone for good?
--Anna Foote, St. Louis, Missouri

Tasmanian Crimson

her silky creeping
limbs fluid as she pounces
red brightens her coat
--Molly Armijo, Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Teeth and claws and stripes
You once ruled Tasmania
Where are you hiding?
--Dan Roller, Las Vegas, Nevada

fiery eyes scan
movement on the horizon
near a blood red moone
--Shane Gilreath

Opnaeia's five eyes:
Nature seems at odds with odds ...
The evens won out.
--Thomas Izaguirre, Edgewater, Maryland

Tasmanian Tiger

ripple cross the plain
whirl in pleasure with the night
carry on your dream
--mourningdove caller, Salt Lake City, Utah

Fuzzy Strikes Again!

Aussie native 'roos
Roam safely in the outback
In Wisconsin too

Slithering patterns
Entwine unsuspecting prey
impossibly large

Enough for today
But I'll return tomorrow
With more silly prose
--Fuzzy

wild eyes fixed on prey
split second timing she pounced
Mermaid Match dot com
--Jeff Hartzheim, Fuquay Varina, North Carolina

Black-footed ferret
Goodbye weasel superstar
Killed off by cattle
--W.T., Ohio

Homage to Cadborosaurus

In the ocean's depths,
The sea serpent lives and breathes
A legend always
--Steven Stockton, Tucson, Arizona

Pond of rusted drums
Black coil unwinds, submerges
once in a lifetime

Hope I counted right! It's about sighting something in a pond amongst urban decay, something not found in any books ...
--John Johansen

Silence in the night
The Tasmanian Tiger
Never roars again
--BJDotson

Wand'ring through the night,
A Tasmanian Tiger
Is real hard to find.
--Louis Richards, Miramar, Florida

A furtive cat-fox,
Leaf mould sprite of Borneo,
Dodges avid fans.
--Beth Sullivan, Richfield, Minnesota

Shadow

Lest we too become
Perhaps we should all take heed
A forgotten breed
--Marie Noguerole, Portland Oregon

As swift as sunlight
the Tasmanian tiger
has been lost to us
--Gaye McGill, Saint Peters, Missouri

For the Dodo

Wings of no employ
Meaningless and untimely
Darwin's evidence
--Regina Lafay, Las Vegas, Nevada

The silenced roar echoes
As the ghostly striped cat
Haunts Tasmania
--stonesoupvillage

his glass eyes watch me
beautiful but deadly cat
seen now in an exhibit
--Stephanie Dow, Covington, Washington

Melting Polar Caps
Fluorocarbons not our friend
Thinking ... living ... Green!
--John Marion

in forests of time
the nocturnal predator
waits for your exit

a mystic's painting
of Tasmanian Tigers
hangs in his mind's eye
--Darrell Lindsey, Nacogdoches, Texas

Carnivorous Beast
the Tasmanian Tiger
on others he feasts
--Kasper

For man's destruction
Falls the tear from tribal eye
Friend, there is "only you"
--Robert Upshaw, Palmetto Bay, Florida

Tasmanian's tiger
Striped, marsupial wolf
Does it roam no more?
--Troy McVay.

Two Haiku

beautiful tiger
growling, leaping in the night
but where are you now?

muscles, fur, feathers,
you ruled without ruining
so many, gone forever
--Auriette Lindsey, Pensacola, Florida

Tasmanian Devil
Lurking Beneath The Pale Moon
Watching All That Moves
--Adhab Al-Farhan, College Park, Maryland

Human Beings - An Endangered Species

In a child's mind
hearing negative expressions
sound tying nots
--Michael Levy, from his collection "Ultra-Violet Haiku De-Lights"

16 Haiku

Balinese tigers
Pugmarks on rainforest floor
All the rest is gone

Squeeze cage hurts so much
Golden moon bear suffers there
Sacrificed for bile

Pink nimbus on hills
Trees along Mexican coast
Rosa morada

Cities of blue jade
Reclaimed by rainforest now
Monkeys and macaws

Shimmering cyan
Blue morpho butterfly floats
Wingbeats blue lightstorm

Jungle canopy
Scarlet macaws fly about
Fireworks in daytime

Moonflower dogs sleep
Incan rooms filled with orchids
Hairless nightroaming

Pantanal wetlands
Hyacinth macaws light down
Pecking for palm nuts

Marrakesh street
Costumed monkey sells nougat
Bustling crowd walks past

Cave of human skulls
Tlanuwa thunderbird
Cherokee knew fear

Lick-lick sugar cane
Eastern bison in coosa
Might have been last meal

Plash of water heard
Pussywillows in thick mist
Red frog dimly seen

Rattlesnake on path
My father might have shot it
Free steak for dinner

Planets spin circles
White clouds sweep blue earth
Solar flares rip space

Vast Australia
Tasmanian tiger roams
Movie in my mind
(a little salute from Hollyweird!)

SEXY TIGER

Tiger shtups his mate
Don't grind his shlong to powder
False hope for weak men
--Janis Helbert, Pacific Palisades, California

For information about the illegal trade in tiger parts, visit the Save the Tiger Fund.

Water pollution
poisons fish and folks alike
Keep the oceans clean
--Wendy Lee Klenetsky, Freehold, New Jersey

Sadly missing beast
Stalks the jungles of our minds
Why did you leave us?
--Fred Downs, Shalimar, Florida

Taz tigers and devils too,
do not belong in a zoo,
let's free them
--Mary Lou Paulson, Austin, Texas

15 Haiku

I like Thylacines.
Tawny strip-ed tiger wolf.
Say he still exists.

I really like birds.
Like the passenger pigeon.
They are so tasty.

Footprints in the dirt.
Shoe size over 25.
I have to go now.

Ah the Wilderness.
Who knows what's lurking in there?
Could be anything.

Look in the water.
spy strangely shining scales.
Undulating by.

Giant sloths are gone.
The moa is no moa.
Who will be the next?

No more dinosaurs?
Have you seen a roc lately?
Keep looking for them.

Mr. Miller saw.
Tule elk were down to two.
He went and saved them.

Dodos are extinct.
What interesting creatures.
They're gone forever.

What on Earth was that?
In Loch Ness there's a mystery.
Will we ever know?

Cryptid critter things.
May we only read of them?
Might they not be real?

Hear "bigfoot shmigfoot.
But don't believe the skeptics.
Just keep on looking.

Basketball champeen.
Eats up the competition.
I know bigfoot wears hightops.

A yeti each day.
Will keep the doubters away.
While thinkers search on.

We are rarely seen.
Who would live in Inverness?
I would and I do.
--Katherine Morse, Inverness, California

tasmanian tiger burning bright
looked thousands of years thru the night ice and heat light and dark
and ended in a museum park
--speck135les

Beautiful animals
Some are almost extinct now
They need our help and love
--Melanie Mae Coleman, Walnut Creek, California

Slipping through the night
Tiger Tasmanian slinks
Blinks in our mem'ry.
--JKS

Lost from the jungle
Precious animals and plants
Do not forget them
--David Ellyatt, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Wise eyes sadly plead.
Silverback gorillas flee
poachers cruel greed.
--Dianne W. Fuzek, Greenville, Rhode Island

slinking silent quick
huge fangs,sharp claws yellow eyes
stalking its prey
--Flanagan

Endangered Tiger
Roaming through the wild that -
Faces Extinction
--Nancy Horiye, San Diego, California

Endings

One, the loneliest
number. None, lonely no more.
"Sad," doesn't begin ...

One last lonely cry
like no other cry on Earth--
no answer means no future

Extinct: the word has
a bad smell, like a corpse or
a corporate smile.

All that's left is dead
evidence, rumors and hope--
May they live unseen!

Let them be; let it
be camouflage that keeps them
mysteries to men.

Do you think she knows
as she suckles her young, that they
are the last? What say?

We slash and crash through
the planet, even knowing, we
can't keep on this way.

When the last human
faces our own extinction,
what will Gaia do?

Curiosity
killed the cat. Even cloning
won't bring that cat back.

Homo Sapiens,
sez who? Our actions speak truth
or consequences.

Hide and Seek

I'm a nervous wreck.
Man is breathing down my neck.
Can't let Man find me.

I hear Man calling,
"Olly, olly, oxen free!"
Not falling for that.

The game is up, soon,
and the sad thing is, this was
no game. It's my world.
--Sara Bailey, Colorado Springs, Colorado

pulse slows in my grip
the kill is worth the struggle
blood is so yummy
--Smooshy

Two Haiku

Beginning of time,
Tasmania tiger mine
Least unforgotten.

In the raining night,
See those eye gleaming with might
Sight of Majestic.
--Shania Duncan, Beale Air Force Base, California

thylacine of mine
laugh and run in my wild dreams
roam far with me free
--Darilyn Holt, Toledo, Ohio

Give a care--don't dare
extinguish life on this earth
or you'll be dead too.
--A.E. Skal