I have bananas. Him? A vape. He is a human – I’m an ape. I look, but something is amiss... You say I evolve into this?! Cumbersome body drooping low, some black glass won't let his eyes go. His lady blows her glass a kiss... I’m meant to evolve into this?! His fruit comes out a plastic bag that he discards just like a fag. You’ve got to be taking the piss to think I evolve into this! He has no tribe to call his own and follows orders from a throne. Leave me to have my primate bliss– I’m not “evolving” into this!
Puzzled Monkey - A Kyrielle by Tom Shaw
Things have been a little quieter for me on the poetry front of late - I’ve been taking on a lot of non-writing work to resolve some immediate financial challenges, and this has taken me much further away from engaging with my readers and poetry generally than I would like. You could say I certainly feel like a “puzzled monkey”, trying to work out how I can make my writings the main focus of my life, while also trying to prioritise live interactions with others - all in a manner that can keep me fed, with a roof over my head and spend time with the people closest to me in my personal life. I’m still searching for the answer.
As for this poem, I first had the idea while sat looking at a monkey puzzle tree, which ultimately lent its name to the title of this poem. The common name for Araucaria araucana derives from a comment made by English barrister Charles Austen, who remarked: “It would be a puzzle for a monkey to climb that.” Working with this idea, an interest in exploring different poetic forms and wanting to channel some more
energy, this ended up being the result of that exploration.
It wasn’t quite finished in time to be included in my last book, Go Forth, Butterfly! If it were, it likely would have made the cut. As such, consider this piece as something of a “bonus track” that you might find at the end of an album.
Thank you for taking the time to read this piece. Please consider picking up a copy of my latest book or leaving a one-time donation to help support my work. I look forward to sharing more with you soon.
With gratitude,
Tom
.
Tom Shaw
Iain chats with his friend Alex Gomez-Marín here, and I ran back here to drop off a copy to you because I see parallels in the direction of your work.
Creativity. [?]
Perhaps we humans must use cosmic portals to imaginitive receptivity in order to arrive at new futures. I hope humanity evolves quickly enough now to at least begin to resolve our mounting overwhelming crises and meta-crises.
https://youtu.be/WivRq9xPfns?si=O9ob_4WXRfl8QBbf
Love &
Laughter,
mark spark
.