I’m Being Chased by Monkeys
I’m being chased by monkeys.
I am stalked by mobs of apes.
Orangutans pursue me
and it seems there’s no escape.Baboons are right behind me
and at every turn I see
chimpanzees by the dozen;
each one homing in on me.Gorillas follow closely –
I’m running like a rocket.
I should try removing these
bananas from my pocket.
A little history and a few facts on this poem. First, this was the first poem I ever wrote that someone recited back to me. My nephew Zed – for whom I originally wrote this – memorized it and told it back to me. The kiddo in the doodle is a caricature of Zed accordingly.
Second, given I hadn’t been writing poetry for kids long when I put this one together, the rhythm of the last verse is different than the first two. I’ve attempted several unsuccessful fixes over the years. That said, people like it and even though the meter disparity annoys me, I’ve left it.
I’d be interested in seeing if any readers out there could re-cobble the first two verses to match the inflection/rhythm in the last verse without changing the references to the types of monkeys and apes. Maybe, too, could anyone come up with another verse about monkeys to stick between verses one and two that comes up with more kinds of monkeys and apes in pursuit?
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