A Visit to Zombie Park

A Visit to Zombie Park


The kids and I were on our way;
we’d planned an outing for the day
and were discussing where to go.
The zoo? The park? Perhaps, a show?

“I want to go and drive go-karts!”
“No, Build-A-Bear! Their little hearts
are sweet. I love their fuzzy butts.”
My son, emphatically, “You’re nuts!”

It’s then I saw the sign ahead:
“Come Have Fun with the Living Dead!
The Zombie Park. Take your next right.
We’re Always Open – Day AND Night.”

I zoned out from the verbal clash
of my two children talking trash
and wildly swung across the lane,
some circuit shorting in my brain.

Stopping, I turned to face the back.
“OK, you two, I’ll take no flack.
No more pretend technology,
it’s time you faced reality!”

I saw their eyes; they filled with shock.
My daughter whimpered, “Can we talk?”
My son, no longer bellicose,
stayed silent, almost comatose.

“You can stay … of course alone,”
I said in my most chiding tone.
They scrambled to get out the door
like sailors heading off to shore!

The entrance loomed, abnormally
darkened, making it hard to see
what lay beyond like rotted lips
with whispers of apocalypse.

With more curiosity than sense,
I entered, sure this was all pretense.
“Hello!” Imagine my great surprise:
a zombie appeared before my eyes.

Dressed in a top hat, he welcomed me in.
His words were slurred – he was missing his chin –
but the meaning was clear. This was for real.
“Enter! Today you’ll get a great deal.”

I felt a bit nervous after I saw
throughout his welcome he stared at my jaw.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he finally said.
“You’ve probably seen Dawn of the Dead.”

“We zombies are totally misunderstood.
We’re not really bad, we’re actually good.
We’re mostly non-violent. It’s in our contracts.
Leave it to Hollywood to twist the facts.”

What do you say? Are you ready to play?
Step right on up, we’ll have fun today.”
I had been edging toward the “exit” door.
“We’re not quite ready. We need to think more.”

“Well don’t think too much,” he said with a grin.
“Before you go, I’ve a form to fill in.
It’s just a survey so we can improve.
It’ll just take a sec. Now, don’t you move.”

“I’ve got all your names. Is this address right?
And can I assume that you’ll be home tonight?”
As we ran for the door, I could hear a howl
of laughter that somehow escaped through his jowl.

We ran to the car and left very fast
putting the horrors far in the past.
The farther we drove, the greater the calm …
and we all agreed that we wouldn’t tell Mom.

An entry for Round 30, "Invalid Item" 
Prompt: Use six of the following words in the body of your poem. Highlight the words you have chosen so the judges are able to see them. Words may be used in different tense (zoning) but not as part of a word (ozone).

technological * verbal * circuit * zombie * zone * decomposition * genetic * assassin * apocalypse *emphatic * comatose * abnormally * apparatus * hothead * maladroit
No Limits! Line Count: 31 Word Count: 188