In Berlin, today, a panda has died.
The city zoo mourns its animal & exhibit.
The newspaper tells us,
he choked to death
on his favorite stick.
The sign on the cage will now surely go,
the one for the children that says,
This is Lau-Lau, who likes bamboo.

What happens to the animals when they die?
What happens to the signs?
Is there a cemetery somewhere?
Or perhaps there's now a mausoleum,
one of modest size, but tasteful,
and, beside it,
a sign for the children,
This was Lau-Lau, who liked bamboo.