The Other Monkeys

In the dream I am sitting my final exam.

All around me, other monkeys, unfazed by

the invisibility of ink, appear

to be scratching answers to questions

I sense but

fear may be unanswerable.

 

Were you loved or

did you sow acres of aches

 

Have you any regrets

or did I intend to carry my omissions to the grave

 

About the edges of my perception

a growing restlessness starts  

to seep through the silence --

 

when one monkey glares I turn

to see another on the verge of tears,

a third beginning to laugh  

 

prompts me to remember

I was nothing --

 

just another jibber-

jabbering monkey

bewildered by the banality

of a banana.

Ken e Bujold 

Reviews

[Arundass TP]

Excellent writing friend. I thought I am a monkey around sitting. Enjoyed reading

[Vol]

Ken,
The one who grades the test is fair in ways beyond our understanding... but He does not grade on a curve...
Vol

[carl]

"bewildered by the banality of a banana" what a great group of words. Honestly this is an intriguing read but I offer my synopsis in case it is desirable to know what i took from the piece. - a final exam with unanswerable quite personal and important questions and the actions of those around me causes me to realize, I like they, have spent my time on banal issues. More to the point it is cause to wonder did I spend my time as a writer scratching the surface. Did I plumb the depts of my experience concerning love and regret or did I just deal with that which was hackneyed and common place. Sorry about so much to say but it is an intriguing piece of work. -carl

[Ken e Bujold]

Absolutely nothing to apologize for Carl.
As for you observations: just about dead center bullseye.
At some point, we all (whether we believe in Heaven or just decomposition) are faced with the moment of examination. How we answer the questions to that exam is with an honesty we can't evade. Whatever whoever we are addressing, the truth is there within us and can't be washed away.

[Betty Hermelee]

Hi Ken
A very interesting poem….with a great metaphor…. Much sorrow and sadness I pick up…. And using a final exam where one uses scratch marks…like monkeys… are they all in the darkness? It seems as if you feel you are nothing…. Are monkeys smarter than you? Why does one cry and the other laugh? Loss of love creates all kinds of moods….thankfully this is just a dream!
Nice work Ken, very creative
Warmly, B🌷

[W. Barrett Munn]

Excellent. One quibble: did you mean “were you” in line 7?

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for the good catch