Back Monkeys Poem by David Floren

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]