No Spook Or Monkey Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

I am no spook or monkey,
To sit cutely nut and bolted by a door.
And no one rubs my head for luck...
As I smile to pretend to ignore.
I don't pretend like I did anymore.

Nor am I a baboon or a buffoon,
Waiting for nuts to be thrown to me...
At a zoo to crack as my features are laughed at.
But I can be a beast unleashed with attitude,
The moment someone thinks of me as their fool.

I'm no spook or monkey nor am I a baboon,
Sitting picking ticks or rubbing knuckles on a floor.
I can never be a spook or a monkey.
Treated like a fool to be duped.