Admission to Park: Free

[jim turner]

and it was an awesome, beautiful picture
of nature with a million different trees
on mountains, green meadows with rainbows
of flowers, and easy shady trails
beside white-rippled streams with fish
you could actually see the trout in,
swimming around over shimmering rocks.

But an indecorous exterior decorator
had been at work here and you could see
his black and red and yellow art
everywhere you looked, even at scenery:
Go This Way Go That Way
One-Way Only Do Not Enter
Go Right Go Left with black arrows
No Food or Beverages Allowed
Do Not Feed Wildlife on trash cans
Use Me! and Littering Punishable By Law
No Barbecues No Fires A crooked
arrow points to RESTAURANT
Yield!
No Admission–Employees Only
!STOP!

They neared the only restaurant
and it exhaled aromas so wonderful
they could not name the foods.
But guarding the door the decorator art
said: Cash Only No Cards No Checks
No Shirt No Shoes No Admittance
Do Not Come In! This Means You!

But Sir, I'm hungry and my little gal here,
she's hungry, too, and I lost my wallet
somewhere and we wore our shoes off
looking for it and one of your bears
just took my last shirt right off my back--
turned around, pointed down with his thumb
at proof, see there, where he clawed me?

Tsk-tsking and shaking his head, said:
Well, in them cans out back there’s enough
to feed half the world, I guess,
but you have to share it with our bears.

So he said to his wife: I've had enough
bears for one day. Let's go home.
On the way out there was more artwork
on both sides of the road. They
all said the same thing. They said:

PAY AT THE GATE!

2/13/10

[saw]

Hey Jim, you may enjoy looking up a band called The Five Man Electrical Band, to check out their song entitled, "Signs".......your poem instantly reminded me of this old song........yes it's a bear eat bear world...follow the rules though !...ha......good observations and imagery.......

[jim turner]

Aw, shucks! They beat me to my poem. Hey! If the sign says "No Exit," does that mean you can't get out?