A Troop Of Baboons (Terzanelle) Poem by Gert Strydom

I saw a troop of baboons gather
with mothers inspecting for ticks
in a group coming together

feeling through heads with finger nails making sharp clicks
and small mouths finding nipples
with mothers inspecting for ticks

and two old cripples
came hobbling along
and small mouths finding nipples

and some female baboons howling as if in song
and babies
came hobbling along

and some were agitated as if having rabies,
and there were large females
and babies

and as guards a group of huge males.
I saw a troop of baboons gather
and there were large females
in a group coming together.

[References: Les Chercheuses de Poux by Jean Arthur Rimbaud and The Sisters by Roy Campbell.]