Monkey

Monkey

A monkey attacked me last night
I was already down on the ground
Small and ferociously toothy
It snatched my leopard print scarf off my throat and took my bag of treats in its folds.

I was shocked not afraid
I tried holding onto both

The monkey was strangely strong
And curiously strange
It preferred my scarf over the sweet and that
I wouldn't let go
I loved each spot on it
Well earned for years of waiting
Quenched my thirst for tears
Throwing dried eyed fits in
The washroom
The monkey felt
My fingers like jelly
And gnashed its evil teeth in a knowing grin
My scarf was gone
But in infinitesimal heartbeat truth
I knew I had let it go
I  wasn't strong enough this time
To get off the mud puddles
I lay crouched down
Hugging my cheeks
To dirt and made love
to mud with tears.

The monkey knew no pity
The sum of all my fears
Was my errors magnifying
Themselves
Or that monkey would be back again
Clawing my throat away

Throat constricted thoughts welled up from guts to brain
Made me stand up
On two wobbly feet again.

If I crash and burn
Smash like china
That cannot be mended
There's no pity.

But if I sit pretty on grandmother's shelf.
Family heirloom
Ornate collection of precious doom
The tormenting monkey
He knows my name.
Failure
The scent of my game.

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(c) Amrita Valan 2014