By Shem Onderi
The monkey jumps from one tree to another,
No tree is too high or too far apart
To defeat the monkey in its jumping.
It is the monkey’s business
To search for and enjoy life by leaping
From one fruit-bearing tree to another.
The monkey cares little whether the next tree bears sour fruit,
Or whether the tree bears no fruit at all,
Or if the fruits are still unripe.
The tree or branch need not even be attractive
For the monkey to venture onto it.
Not even the taste of the fruit
Stops the monkey from trying first.
For the monkey thrives by plucking,
Then tasting and feeling for itself.
Why can’t the monkey climb down
And then climb another tree, as procedure demands?
Why the shortcut of hopping and jumping?
Is the monkey certain
It will never miss the branch it reaches for?
Monkey business may never guarantee profits;
Profits remain unknown until the monkey hops and tastes.
The day may end without a single fruit at hand
Because other fruit-eating birds
Enjoyed the early morning harvest.
Monkey business, bird business — all are business,
And all depend on luck.
The monkey cannot stop hoping; it is its trade.
Some other animals in the kingdom
May leap and scavenge upon the monkey.
It is not safe either.