Chiller Gorilla
Word-Bird
​​​​’The world’s loneliest gorillas? Urban explorers break into Bristol Zoo and find apes still in enclosure three years after it shut’ [with clip]
Daily Mail, 17th October 2025
​
’“World’s loneliest” gorillas are doing just fine, say Bristol zoo bosses’
The Guardian, 21st October 2025
- - -
​​
“What at you hiding?” (sic), the clip begins,
accompanied by twangy minor chords;
the view moves swiftly through the grounds. We glimpse
autumnal plants and trees, the paths, before
we’re pausing just beneath the rain-flecked glass
of windows. A gorilla’s looking out
and tapping. Then another – curious?
“They look so Miserable!” it’s claimed, and how
they’re here is questioned. Then the story ends,
the melancholy music in our ears,
until we learn from experts that our friends
are fine. No need for us to shed the tears
of Sad, or shake with Anger. They’re all good,
all chilling. Soon they’ll move to their new ’hood.
​​​​​
​​- - -
Fliss: Well met, Word-Bird!
​​​​​
W.-B.: Very much so, FT! As always, I am happy to be here.
​​​​
F: You and me both, dear feathery friend. And I see you’ve been reading the papers again!
​​​​
W.-B.: Yes indeedy! As I mentioned during our previous discussion, it is difficult to occupy myself in this way at present, but from time to time I come across a matter of interest to me.
​​​​​
F: I recall, W.-B. Well, here we are at Bristol Zoo. As it happens, I visited this attraction many moons ago, possibly on a school trip–
​​​​​
W.-B.: So myriad moons ago [chuckles].
​​​​​​​
F: Yes, thank you, cheeky-beak! Anyway, I think I remember the gorillas from those times. I certainly remember the elephants, as one of them sneezed on my friend’s hand!
​​​​​​
W.-B.: An elephantine sneeze?!
​​​​​
F: It was immense, yes. And she sat next to me in the coach on the way back and kept telling me about it. I was feeling pretty sick by the time we returned to school [turns green].
​​​​​​
W.-B.: What a sweet story!
​​​​​​
F: Apologies, W.-B. So, gorillas! And two news stories on this occasion, from different sources.
​​​
W.-B.: That is correct! Interestingly, perhaps, I did not set out to draw a contrast between The Guardian and The Daily Mail; I simply followed a link from the former to the latter, by way of performing some further research for the poem.
​​
F: W.-B., I think I first heard the story on the BBC, and at that stage the tapping on the glass, or ’banging’, as the Mail reports it, was very much emphasised.
​
W.-B.: It seems to me there is much in the way of hyperbole these days, FT, in news as well as across social media.
​
F: Yes, that’s what sells, or certainly gains attention. Reading your first line, W.-B., I think about how it all begins with the buzz.
​
W.-B.: That is the way of the humans, indeedy. But at least all is well with these gorillas! I took a little e-trip to the Bristol Zoo Project after composing my poem, and I feel confident that they will have a lovely new home. There is even a statue in their honour! Here it is:
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
F: Thank you, W.-B. What a heartening end to the story! I’ll have to take an e-trip too. Now, how about a quick look at the metrics before we close?
​​​
W.-B.: Yes! … Yes! … This time, it seemed to me that the subject fitted very neatly to the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. I always find pentameter suitable for storytelling, and there was of course a very clear turn. Here is my notation:
​​​
o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
​​​
I believe I have maintained the iambic approach, but I am happy to receive feedback on this and any other matters. With regard to rhyme, I opted for slant rhymes through the octet, moving to true rhymes for the sestet. I wished to produce an effect of a concern being eased, let us say.
​
F: Well, I do feel eased now, and let’s hope our readers do too! Thanks to all of you for joining us, and thanks also to all our featured poets this month. Nights are drawing in quickly here, such that December does not seem too distant! We look forward to preparing our final issue of 2025. Until then, keep chillin’ like the gorillas! (They’re due to move next spring.)
​​​​​​​​
- - -
Word-Bird has been Colombine Companion to FT since 2011, after FT sustained a life-changing injury in hospital. This affected her right knee and somewhat impacted her brain too. Over the years, W.-B. has become increasingly well known in poetry circles and is happy to be on pleasant terms with a number of excellent poets.
​
- - -​
Pic credit:
’Gorilla statue, Bristol Zoo Project’, by Mareks Perkons (via Shutterstock)
