I Took A Moment Poem by Diana van den Berg

I took a deep-smile moment today
from pressing work
to revel at the joyous abandon
of a troop of Vervet monkeys
celebrating the radiant sunshine
which spilled gold on all around
and awakened the blue, blue skies
to avian halleluias.

The monkeys had been away
during days and days of rain
and my forest had been sad and lonely
and had cried many raindrop tears
but now its friends were back
and some just arms’ length
away from me
as several of the youngsters
ran up one tree and
sprang on to fragile branches
of another
and trampolined
over and over
in glee and glory
and jumped on to the ground
and back on to the ladder tree
and chased each other
up and down
in the same bliss-bounce circle
several times
then springbuck-leaped
through forest undergrowth
to other trees and more,
along with equally jubilant elders,
in magically choreographed ballet
that held me enthralled.

Today I refused to worry
that one would fall,
their easy expertise
and joy
and mischievousness
and ultra-exuberance
and grace
as they trapezed
from tree to tree
almost too fast
for the eye to follow,
was too perfect
for anything except success.

When any needed to take a moment’s respite,
the pause would take in sustenance
of a fruit or flower or seed,
before,
hunger sated for the moment
and breath revived,
he or she rejoined the fun-filled fray.

For half an hour today
my eager forest smiled and danced again,
heartbeat-alive with welcome visitors
and trees and monkeys
waved branches
on this windless day,
in synchronised forest-fun dance,
and my garden was transformed again
into a Cercopithecus aethiops playground
for today’s extra-special
Spring celebration blessing.