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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Rohrer
Matthew Rohrer
The author of several collections of poetry, Matthrew Rohrer's book A Hummock in the Malookas was selected for the National Poetry Series...
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FURTHER READING
Related Poems
Jangling
by Matthew Rohrer and
Moss Retains Moisture
by Matthew Rohrer and
Poems about Monkeys
At the Zoo
by William Makepeace Thackeray
It's obvious
by Greg Hewett
One of the Monkeys
by Nicholas Johnson
The Tree
by Alfred Kreymborg
Related Prose
Poetry and Collaboration: Joshua Beckman & Matthew Rohrer
by Joshua Beckman and
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Monkeys

 
by Matthew Rohrer and Joshua Beckman

In another jungle the monkeys fret. 
Vibrations are tremendous. 
Terror begins. 
Mist dissipates. 
Monkeys alight in unison 
while beneath them nothing sexy happens. 
From within one mangrove a monkey flutters helplessly, 
another watches. 
Noise like refined alabaster drifts across our monkeys. 
Human intellect dwarfs only that first tear. 
Everything else excels. 
Intellect is nothing to savor. 
Monkeys know. 
Monkeys see. 
Monkeys do. 
As monkeys follow nauseated foresters 
across wet walkways they announce their intentions. 
Mankind savors variety. 
Monkeys savor mankind. 
Poachers came and grabbed the monkeys. 
In disturbing circumstances they thrive. 
Our satellites saw lilacs. 
Nighttime. 
No one wanders forever.






From Nice Hat. Thanks. copyright © 2002 by Joshua Beckman and Matthew Rohrer. Reprinted by permission of Wave Books.
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