Three Monkeys

In the den of mother’s home
three monkeys
hands over eyes, ears, mouth
squat next to The Kinsey Report
one book over from The Tropic of Cancer
God’s Little Acre, Peyton Place, Valley of the Dolls
sandwich assorted dime-store murder mysteries
Prominently placed on the end
Emily Post’s Book of Etiquette
rests on a stack of Playboy magazines

Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories
a free gift with our set of encyclopedias
leans over the dog-eared copy
of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care
Mother, years later, rebuked Dr. Spock
for having the audacity to speak against
our American way, The Vietnam war
She was sure he was the harbinger
for a whole spoilt generation
raised and coddled on his advice

In the den of present prospect shelves line walls
littered with books I have chosen:
The Essential Rumi, Wonderful World of Beading,
Poems for the New Millennium, Through the Lens
and Oxford literary Quotations lay next to Poet’s & Writers
on the left three monkeys newly purchased
seemingly inert primates of alchemy
rest atop the computer screen
I think back now when my voice was silent
under clatter raised to frenzied pitch
and the books spoke for someone else