What words should we etch
On memory’s precious plaques?
Which monkeys would we willingly stretch
Across our monkey-burdened backs?
Not debts, not grief,
Nor 800 lb gorillas.
Not death, not taxes,
Nor irked chinchillas
Upset by unchecked nightmares
(Short-term gain-lovers
Capturing and selling to Petco) .
Get ready, get set, go!
So that these steady words
Might chisel a heady,
lasting “IN MEMORIAM, ”
And not fizzle
Like flat Mr. Pibb
In the rarified auditorium
Of an otherwise terrified
Mnemosyne,
who,
I’m sure,
Prefers 'The Real Thing.'
[12-31-05 Berkeley, CA]
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem