Memories linger
Memories lapse
What was it I did
What was it you said
Anyone's guess
Is as good of a guess
Weren't we once friends
Or just acquaintances

We see different angles
In what we believe
I once listened to you
You once listened to me
In search of the truth
Is how it used to be
Now all we do
Is fume as we scream

Who is the child
And who's the adult
Bombarded with lies
On every front
Isn't it time
We all stood up in want
Of the goodness that's due
In what once was the norm

Here I am with all the other men
Surviving at the shopping mall
Circling round the one lone couch
Waiting for our wives to show

So we can carry packages
In our sweaty shaking palms
While we patiently succumb
To their daily shop and drop

Here I am with all the other men
Rattling on with our small talk
Diving into conversations
Without giving it much thought

We talk about the weather
And price of gasoline
While our wives on their spree
Spend all of our money

Here I am with all the other man
In what seems like endless days
Not a one of us brave enough
To make our get away

So here we are at beckon call
In this shopping mall
Circling round the one lone couch
Waiting for our wives to show

I am just a simple man
In these United States
Not quite clear how many years
But nothing much has changed

The same with my father
And his father before him
All because they base it all
On the color of my skin

Where judgement weighs out heavy
Underneath the thumb
Of the government whose plan it is
To rule this plantation

They talk a big game of freedom
For the likes of simple me
But to this day, it's been the same game
Of mental slavery

When you don't pay attention
To "The Man's" sleight of hand
This much is true, he'll rule over you
Every chance he can

Does his best behind his back
Out of sight, out of mind
He finds that he gets ahead
Continually pushing rewind

Never aware, the character
Of the man I am within
All they ever seem to care
Is the color of my skin

Quick here with a promise
They seem to never keep
Far from being honest
With this mental slavery

Slipping and sliding
Back into the past
Foolishly buying
All the foolishness they've said

Stacking me against you
Pitting you against me
Does it hurt to stretch the truth
If the lie is so easy

Keeping us under lock and key
Mental Slavery

Under their thumbs
We're being kept
Simple pawns
In their game of chess

We take them at their word
This herd of talking heads
As we rely on every line
That we're being fed

Keeping us under lock and key
Mental Slavery

With the slightest of resistance
We feel we should fight back
But at our own insistence
It's ambition that we lack

So we follow along the path
Eyes closed to reality
Turning us against each other
Makes it hard to see

Keeping us under lock and key
Mental Slavery

Slipping and sliding
Back into the past
Foolishly buying
All the foolishness they've said

Stacking me against you
Pitting you against me
Does it hurt to stretch the truth
If the lie is so easy

Keeping us under lock and key
Mental Slavery

Under their thumbs
We're being kept
Simple pawns
In their game of chess

We take them at their word
This herd of talking heads
As we rely on every line
That we're being fed

Keeping us under lock and key
Mental Slavery

With the slightest of resistance
We feel we should fight back
But at our own insistence
It's ambition that we lack

So we follow along the path
Eyes closed to reality
Turning us against each other
Makes it hard to see

Keeping us under lock and key
Mental Slavery

From the moment of conception
To along life's wayward path
God knows all the steps you've taken
And all that you have left

With a love that's pure and generous
A promise for your soul to keep
That runs throughout the ages
In His mercy deep

The only thing to keep you away from it
Is to reject the free gift he gives
The Son crucified for all mankind
So all mankind may live

In the presence of his glory
For all eternity
The way life is meant to be
In His mercy deep

We can recieve a taste of Heaven
While here on this earth
Break the bond death has on us
With Jesus as the cure

It's not that complicated
All you need do is believe
Satisfied with true life
In His mercy deep

I wish all hearts could clearly see
The season that's upon us
Is not just for those who do believe
In the God above who loves us

But for the world in general
Celebrating what he left us
The perfect gift of himself
Knowing only he could save us

Let the heart of man gather in
This Christmas jubilation
Where the ****** birth would change the course
Of a world in need of saving

As we gather here this time of year
To celebrate the one who frees us
Above all else from ourselves
In the birth of the Lord Jesus

So Merry Christmas one and all
The season now upon us
Not just for those who do believe
From the God above who loves us

Check the meter, she's a keeper
With a pocket full of change
Every minute you feel you need her
Is another counted to your day

You've stayed too long with her in your thoughts
But you don't mind the fine
As you come to life's cross walk
First look left, then look right

Standing by in uniform
Uniformly passing time
You have your needs along with wants
As you add another dime, turning up the dail

To the meter cause she's a keeper
With a pocket full of change
Every minute that you need her
Is another added to your day

i believe
in me & you
where one & one
adds to the truth
subtract the world
from our view
& all that leaves
is me & you

hand in hand
we won't let loose
from everything
that we go through
a promise made
in the i do
between me
between you

to always stand
on loves firm truth
& on that thought
to not let loose
hasn't always been
an easy cruise
but i'm glad i did
it all with you

Me & You came to this party
Full of vigor, full of life
Ready to take it all head on
Me & You, husband and wife

Me & You are the daily special
With love served on the side
Here or to go we're good with the flow
Me & You together for life

Me & You are willing partners
Me & You both fit the crime
The day we robbed each others heart
Me & You have been doing time

Me & You fit each other
Like a well worn pair of gloves
Summer strong, Winter warm
Me & You covered in love

Me & You are holding steady
To this venture we are on
More rough these days than ready
Me & You in this love song

Me & You do better together
Than we ever could separately
Two love birds of a feather
Flying through this life fancy free

michael was a poet
from the moment he arrived
taking all that he was given
and putting it to rhyme

holding to the certainty
on the day that he was born
michael would take it all in hand
and live it out in poem

he would fill his days with laughter
letting sadness have the night
as it came in bits and pieces
in the poetry he would write

there were those that never understood
what brought his thoughts to mind
beyond the space he was living in
on another plain in time

dipping often in the rhythm
as his tide would ebb and flow
michael was a poet
and that's all he's ever known

michael dreams
of things that he sees
in his mind
at any given time
pulls out paper and pen
jots down again and again
everything that michael dreams

michael rhymes
all that he finds
everyday
then gives it away
bringing such joy
like the first day of a new toy
that is why michael rhymes

michael flies
all of the time
sets himself free
without any wings
plotting a course in his mind
through his dreams and his rhymes
that is how michael flies

People often say now I understand
When they hear that I'm from Paree
Not Gay Paree silly, but redneck
In the heart of Tennessee

I am the newest style of hairdressers
Here to lay out all the facts
I no longer work on the tops of heads
But straight out of the pits

It all happened when I got bored
With the every day to day
Trimming of the head left me feeling dead
That's when it hit me..."Underarm Braid"

That right there was my life saver
That right there was my turn around
If it didn't make me world famous
At least it did on this side of town

Now people come from as far as Nashville
To have their underarms done
I even gave a left and right pit Mohawk
To the Governor's daughter and son

What? Did you think I only braided?
There's so much more that I can do
Just ask the Punk Rock Chick's that wait in line
To have their armpits colored blue

My older clientele have let there hair grow out
Since it is they learned
I'm now specializing in for both women and men
Their favorite sets and perms

So feel the freedom of the pits
That hippie chicks have long since known
Here at Michael's Salon Of Pits
We'll do something special with that growth

There's a certain nostalgia that comes along with summer
In on the warm breeze as it blows
A remembrance of us as young lovers
In a time set long ago

Old days never forgotten
Your touches made with devotion
Yet a loophole enlarges in my bones
Due to the pining of the past that overwhelms my soul

As I hold fast to the new days beginning
Clinging tight to the dreams that it brings
Where I find that life is worth living
If living with you is what it all means

Our moments in the sand long buried
In my heart that is carried away from this world
Further to another place where I gaze at your beautiful face
And that voice that echos along with every pulse of my core

I frequent a little taco stand
Every time that I'm out west
With Elvis behind the counter
Dressed in his leathers best

Janice Joplin doing dishes
With Southern Comfort breath
Arguing with fry cook Jim Morrison
Over the best way of cheating death

Jimi Hendrix works the tables
That they have set up out front
Recommending the mushroom taco
With the psychedelic crunch

Marilyn Monroe...the entertainment
Nightly serenades the gents
While wearing here favorite T-shirt
Bobby Kennedy for president

I highly recommend the little taco stand
If you ever find yourself out West
Who's going to show up to take your order that day
Could be anybody's guess

I frequent a little taco stand
Every time I'm out in the Mid-West
With Elvis behind the counter
Dressed in his leather best

Janice Joplin doing the dishes
With enchilada breath
Arguing with the fry cook Jim Morrison
Over the  best way of cheating death

Jimi Hendrix works the tables
That they have set up out front
Recommending the mushroom taco
With the psychedelic crunch

Marilyn Monroe...the entertainment
Nightly serenades the gents
Wearing her favorite T-shirt
Bobby Kennedy for president

I highly recommend the little taco stand
If you ever find yourself out West
Who's going to show up to take your order that day
Could be anybody's guess...

I'm so bored with winter
Waiting for the thaw
That I spread mayonnaise on the ceiling
And Parkay on the walls

Chicken salad on the chandelier
Tuna on the couch
A sprinkle of some bacon bits
Straight out of the pouch

Grape jelly on the door jams
Peanut butter in the locks
We'll have them eating out of our hands
Like a Canadian Mayor smoking rock
(but only when he's drunk)

Pickle relish in the picture frames
Nutella smeared into the floor
A half a pound of hard salami
Nailed onto the door

A call down to the bakery
Order up some pumpernickel
Slap it on the outside
With the house fixins in the middle

Here you have our special
What you taste you'll soon find out
Welcome to Mike & Savannah's
Famous Sandwich House

Have you ever stood on the edge of night
And wondered at the Milky-way
Gapping at it wide eyed
Without a word to say

Does it make you feel small
And insignificant
Out amongst the stars
Where the universe is kept

The vastness of it all
Clearly on display
Have you ever stood at night
And wondered at the Milky-way

If you've not yet guessed
There is no rest
This constant battle
Inside our heads
And with that said
We do our best
To soldier on
In this our quest

We take the hill
Each time we kneel
One less bomb to step on
In our mind fields

The enemy
In all we see
Like it or not looks a lot
Like you and me
The air we breath
The hate we bread
The battle thoughts
We need to beat

It's oh so real
**** or be killed
These thoughts we don't want to step on
In our mind fields

You catch them hanging out
Pretty much on the edge
Of the cranium
Where they like to lay their eggs

They keep you remembering
All that you should know
If you need to have a name
They go by the mindful

Once the eggs have hatched
You'll be mindful of this and that
Keeping you on your guard
Of what should be done and said

Into your brain they will burn
All in life we need to learn
Keeping an eye on those around
Is mostly the mindful's concern

They take it to task amongst themselves
To be mindful of everyone else
For after all isn't that
What a mindful life is all about

So don't be scared, don't be afraid
When you feel an itching of the brain
It's just the mindful laying ground
Soon enough to be paved

Making sure the road ahead's
Not too bumpy or too rough
As you're on your way to what
You should be mindful of

I try my hand at fitting in
But miss most of the time
It could be worse but here's the dirt
I've been a misfit all my life

When you try and take a square peg
In a world that's spinning round
You'll soon find it doesn't fit
If there ever was a doubt

Like a fish out of the water
This pig that has no wings
My life is one big falter
If I'm at fault of anything

If it's even the slightest bit odd
That is where you will find me
Being where I ought not
When you pull back the curtain of reality

I find there really is no choice
Or to what degree
As I raise both hand and voice
A misfit it will be

we come and go
stay and leave
while some get stuck
in-between
the modern age
social scene
all misfits
if you ask me

you do it too
i do believe
make a pact
with secrecy
test the water
see how deep
all misfits
if you ask me

take the blame
to some degree
some if none
with hurt feelings
how many here
have earned their keep
all misfits
if you ask me

I just learned that my friend and fellow poet
Amy Perry has been missing since Monday 6-13-16
She was last seen in Vista, California and could be in Las Angeles. I know that she has struggled with mental issues in the past and I just hope and pray they find her safe.  I posted the last poem we collaborated on you can go to for a picture if you live in that area. She's very tiny at only 5 ft.

I sometimes miss
When I was a kid
And all the crazy things
That I always did

As it's awfully hard
To get used to this
Playing the old **** part
Like nobodies biz

All this growing up
Is mostly out to lunch
Will you pass the peas
Thank you very much

Growing bounds and leaps
Pretty as you please
What's in front, behind
And beside of me

With a wrinkle here
And a wrinkle there
Along with balding spots
In my graying hair

And a belly, Budda
Would be proud of
As I haven't missed
Too many times at lunch

With a memory
That's hard to find
As this wandering mind
Gets lost at times

If I had the chance
To do it all again
I'll show you where
If you tell me when

Cause I sometimes miss
When I was a kid
And all the crazy things
That I always did...

I may look bewildered
Out of focus, out of tune
It's not all that simple
If you must know the truth
Being no laughing matter
Me without a clue
I find nothing sadder
Than the fact of missing you

Tried so many remedies
Come close to losing count
Tossed out with the debris
In the bin of finding out
I thought I would be better
And that it would be soon
Scarlett to the Letter
Me missing you

All of my short comings
Come more now than go
With hindsight 20/20
That's something I now know
Nothing left to be kept
Not a thing to prove
And now with all that being said
This is me missing you

If you ever stop to wonder
If what I say is true
Feel free to take a gander
At what I'm going through
This color I can't escape
The deepest shade of blue

And you'll see just what I mean
This is me missing you

I still wonder often
Why life let you loose
What was going through its mind
I only wish I knew
As it stands right now
I haven't got a clue

Do you now see what I mean
This is me missing you

With the force of memory
Both the old and new
A steep climb to better times
Before all this fell through
Take it all for all it's worth
As I so often do

And you'll clearly see what I mean
This is me missing you

Miss Liberty says
Before she takes the fall
She's a bit confused
At today's goings on

She remembers when
Our strength was our difference
Now that difference has us
Fighting it out like kids

Before she goes down for the count
She'd like to find out
What all the fuss
And hub bub is all about

With the fog rolling in
It's hard to see clear
Or where to begin
Between some people's ears  

Miss Liberty says
There's not much time left
So grab a hand basket
And get set for the trip

If you're not sure what I mean
Feel free to look it up
I'm trying my very best
These days not to cuss...

in the come and go
of the give and take
when will we pay heed
to the words they say
dark as chocolate night
plain as vanilla day
who out there regrets
mistakes that they have made

marking this all down
saving hot the date
give it all away
hate that rules the day
don't dare dilly dally
do not doubt delay
otherwise you might
regret mistakes you've made

all of us sleep in
the beds that we have made
i have heard the early bird
never once is late
shut tight all the doors
close and latch the gate
on every last regret
of mistakes that you have made

I'm getting bored
With the same old problems
Getting tired
Of the same old way
Look around
Everybody's got one
Day after day
After day after day
Starting to feel
I've hit rock bottom
I've turned the last card
On this silly game
Smoke em boys
If you've got em

Hoping to find myself
A new mistake to make

I need to mash these
Potatoes Au Gratin
Stir this day
Into a souffle
I need to iron
And press out these problems
Do my best to keep
The Wolves at bay
Hopefully soon
Drink youth from the fountain
And watch as
The old wrinkles fade
Shine a light into
My darkened cavern

Hoping to find myself
A new mistake to make

With pocket full of mistletoe
You never know when love will show
Up when you least expect
Come what may with little left

Greenery in short supply
When love catches her wanting eye
Where's a doorway when you need
And not the one in which to leave

With clinched fist she loses count
All the times she's pulled it out
In her hope that love will show
This pocketful of mistletoe

With tight grip on the wheel
Trying my best to steer myself clear
Every sign I pass says yield
How in the world did I get myself here

Never sure of my direction
Left, right, up, or down
You can tell by my expression
Driving in a heavy mist of doubt

Continuously flashing the high beams
With my confidence running low
On this rocky road it gets hard to see
Seems so long ago I lost my way home

Pretty sure this is my own fault
How much more will I allow
Before the fool in me is caught
Driving in this heavy mist of doubt

No one said life would be easy
In fact, at times, it's rather cruel
When you struggle with the keeping
Up with all the rules

Overtime I've perfected the lost part
Still looking to be found
Being in the dark is my lost form of art
Driving in this heavy mist of doubt

I'm seriously thinking of making
A mixtape page of all my poems
Taking out my favorite lines
From all of the ones that I've wrote

Putting them all together
Down onto one page
Then label it quite proudly
My poetry mixtape

Sort of like a greatest hits
All of the stuff that I'm proud
Ask a few friends what they'd like in the mix
May take time but I'll figure it out

I'll fill it up with happy stuff
Add a few lines that are sad
Even throw in a bit of humor
So halfway through I'll get a laugh

Then I'll take it with me out to the streets
Along with a portable mic
Read it out loud to the maddening crowds
Perhaps breaking up a few fights

They'll be hugging and kissing in no time
Dancing in line to the rhymes
Passing out copies of my mixtape poetry page
So they too can recite all the lines

Yes, a mixtape page of my poetry
Might be just the thing to do the trick
The more I'm thinking of this idea
The more I'm liking it

After a long hard day on the job
Feeling down trodden and beat
All that it is that I can think of
Is getting off my dog tired feet

But first a little pleasure stop
Down at the local market place
So while I'm sitting on my derriere
I'll have something to stuff my face

Of course you know the conclusion
My taste buds they always come to
The perfect of all combinations
One on which you never can lose

I'm talking peanut butter and chocolate
The true fantasy of men
I prefer mine in little droplets
Better known as peanut butter m&m;'s

I fell straight into a chocoholic mode
Ripping the bag open as contents explode
No turning back as I mindlessly grab
Giggling like a crazed Dennis Rodman in drag

Then it slapped me right smack in the face
Something not right going on in this place
As I gazed upon what looked like to me
A regular m&m; in my bag of ecstasy

I couldn't believe what sat before my eyes
Have I been fed a bunch of white chocolate lies
My mouth hangs open truly amazed
With milk chocolate drool all over my face

I rufuse to let this travesty go unresolved
With my stationary shaped like butterfly wings
I shoot off a letter to the corporate boss
Telling of the trauma he has caused me

I want answers and I want  them right now
Asking nothing less than the mysteries of life
How could anyone be so careless
As to let a regular m&m; slide by

Said they need people like me with keen eyes
Offered me work in their quality control booth
Now after months and months on the job
Even the thought of chocolate makes me want to puke

My life is like a mobile
Above the crib of life
Swinging free in the AC's gentle breeze
As the music softly plays

Batted by the world
As I twirl in childlike wonder
Overhead where my dreams are kept
Black and white in color

In my youth, I could accept it
Tripping the light fantastic
Now it's cut-outs of paper clouds
Spinning everlasting

What can you say
But to say, we've been played
For the genuine fools we are

Guaranteed to follow through
In a trail of drool
Knuckles dragging on the floor

This Mob mentality
Is no great mystery
Just skipping along the beaten path

That for years we've been
Following
Not thinking one iota for ourselves

Whatever flavors made
Of the Kool-Aid
We gladly guzzle down

Then ask for seconds
To what they're handing
For us to happily pass around

The more the merrier
As things get scarier
But what else can we do

When time after time
We've moved the line
In this life where the Mob Rules

I keep wondering if all this I need
Has it really simplified my life
Like the cell phone I hold in my sweaty palm
From the break of day to my break down at night

And this microwave, how much time does it save
When I waste it anyways away on T.V.
What about these prepackaged snacks keeping me wrapped in fat
With a side of guilt and free heart disease

I used to get lost in thought, but todays thoughts are lost
The way I keep on Googling
When the answer is at my fingertips
Would it be insane, to say I don't need a brain

And don't get me started on social media
Which isn't that social at all
All it's really done is made us a nation of want
While socially we've all withdrawn

Which helps in placing orders for my need to feed
And have some stranger pick it up on the move
It's simple online if you're willing to pay the oversized price
And the chance of them spitting in your food

What has happened to us with modern day conveniences
Is life really all that much better
Weren't we happy in the throes when we weren't so in the know
Should have dropped technology off on the side of the rode
and left her  

There, that's better...

Modern Technology confuses me
Especially when I'm alone
Without some 6-year-old kid to show me it
Which only helps to prove that I'm old

You'd think over the years I'd have earned my keep
But instead, I'm left out in the cold
Perhaps someone 2 might better suit
It all being gibberish to me

Modern Technology has it out for me
I'm thinking it thinks it's real cute
With its drummer and me on two different beats
Which throws everything else out of tune

I sit and stare bug-eyed at the glare
Be it computer, smartphone, or...is this even a watch?!
I'd take the dive but I'm not that deep
It's my mind this time, not my feet that keep tripping me

Modern Technology is mocking me
Thinks it's Big Man on Campus
Gets all the high grades or at least appears that way
Of course, the mistakes may be coming from me

I wonder who is the master and who is the slave
And who's the holder of the secret key
And had we all known these cows ain't coming home
Would we have dipped our toes into
this stream of Modern Technology

Can't quite remember when
This modern pile that we stepped in
Smells like easier to live

Is how we saw the signs

With a lot of this is it
In all of this we daily did
Is this the mess they really meant

Now that we live the lie

The way that we had seen it
We thought it all pure genius
Sold it as convenience

This luxury to life

But what they really gave us
Would soon enough enslave us
Tattoo and engrave us

While turning a blind eye

As technology surrounds us
Gags us and confounds us
Leaving some of us in the dust

Babbling fools out of our minds

Why in this do we feel alone
In what once we all held hope
Locked up tight inside our homes

Could someone please clap out the lights...

While one day out wandering
I found this poem on the side of the road
Either someone had tossed it out
Or from a car window it was blown

It was covered up with dirt and grime
Guess it had been there quite some time
Plus water spot stains of rain
Or tears someone had cried

It started out simple enough
As it rhymed out this poets love
Then changed course about mid-verse
Over secrets that he learned

Not sure if this was the end
Of the love he held that day
But from where it is that I sit
It sure looks that way

I guess his wasn't the only heart
With which his lover played
Which might explain the reason and the way
I found this poem that day

I read down a few more stanzas
Were the poem ended suddenly
So I stuck the poem into my pocket
As I stuck my thumb in the air to leave

It didn't take that long for a car to stop by
An old man in a sedan with loneliness in his eyes
In conversation he told me he'd been a poet on this road
Something that he does miss but gave up sometime ago

He didn't delve deeply into the reason why
At that point we sat in silence as the landscape passed by
I'm not sure in those moments what was on his mind
But I think there was a tear in the corner of his eye

I figured to leave well enough alone would be best
And still to this day I wonder if ever that
He found that poem I stuffed under the seat
And if it brought sorrow or it brought relief
as I stepped out of the car and back onto the street

Slight twitching of the toes
A shudder of the shins
The knocking of the knees
Is where it all begins

Vibration of the thighs
Through years of cellulite
Swinging of the hips
As it makes it's little trip

Grumbling of the belly
Way deep down inside
Till it moves up to the chest
To the thump of the hearts delight

Shoots straight to the brain
Where it bounces back and forth
Throughout the cracks and crevices
Till it feels it's run its course

Drops down to a lump in the throat
Giving way to speech
Spilling forth for all it's worth
In waves of poetry

in this rest and relax
the little time that we have
emoting life in a forward move
monday comes one day too soon

with clear memories kept
spilling harshly from our laps
far too fast to catch what we lose
monday comes one day too soon

grabbing at the last days straw
not wanting to let one iota go
from what we'd done to the planned to do
monday comes one day too soon

weekend time is the fastest of rides
minutes wave to seconds pulled out by the tide
no control on the speed that it moves
monday comes one day too soon

I found a hundred dollar bill
In the Target parking lot
Placed an ad with some guy named Craig
To find who's bill it was they lost

I truly am amazed
At the people calling me
And how many lose their money
Like it was grown on trees

When I asked the question of
Round about what date
There was silence on the line
Guess they really couldn't say

But they all swore up and down
That it was their hundred bill
I informed them all that I'd get back
As my phone would not stay still

I had so many heartfelt calls
That it made me think
Of this one grand idea
As I headed to the bank

I really felt so bad
For all the people and their woes
That I emptied out my account
Of all of it's doe

I looked all the people who called me up
And drove out to their place
It was worth the money
To see the joy on every face

Now I'm broke as I can be
No more money have I got
Spending the days left to me
Scouring the Target parking lot

I once knew a man
Who kept a monkey in his pocket
Why, he never said
If it was a joke, I never got it

Every now and then
It'd stick out its little monkey hand
Shaking yours for all it's worth
Expecting you to shake his back of course

He took that monkey with him
Everywhere that you could think
The monkey especially loved the movies
But not the ones too scary

And the monkey for all pretense
Loved to chew on Junior Mints
If the Concession stand was ever out of them
The monkey threw the biggest fit

None of this makes much sense
If you stop to think about it
Just making mention of the man I knew
That keeps a monkey in his pocket

monkeys talk and they make sense
about as much as the business men
in central park on their lunch break
or after dark when they escape

monkeys dance to the disco beat
like the hooligans on city streets
weaving in and out of traffic lanes
forget the face, forget the names

monkeys yawn in college class
then raise their hands as if to ask
when you grade is there a curve
have they heard a single word

monkeys love their party hats
and extra special party masks
it all seems odd but then again
it all makes perfect monkey sense