Bag of Monkeys

author’s note:

Buddhist teaching tells us that the mind is a monkey chained to a post.

I keep trying to add links.  But carefully, carefully.


BAG OF MONKEYS

At birth, I was given
a bag of monkeys to carry.

A blessing and a burden:
a carnival to enjoy
but a task of management--
how to control without killing
the playful hijinks.

Fortunately, I now allow myself
to escape this struggle
by retreating to the high countryside
where I can open that bag
and let the monkeys dance
as I exhale in release.

But though I can occasionally feel at peace
I know I’m not yet a man of peace
and would never become one
if I remained on that mountain.

No matter what I accomplish
I’ll never feel myself a success unless
I can walk with that bag
balanced on my head
through our rowdy simian carnival.

33 1/3 New Fables & Myth: ebook
© 2021, Michael R. Patton