Reading: Szymborska's "Brueghel's Two Monkeys"


Brueghel's Two Monkeys
This is what I see in my dreams about final exams:
two monkeys, chained to the floor, sit on the windowsill,
the sky behind them flutters,
the sea is taking a bath.

The exam is History of Mankind. 
I stammer and hedge.

One monkey stares and listens with mocking disdain,
the other seems to be dreaming away --
but when it's clear I don't know what to say
he prompts me with a gentle
clinking of his chain.


***
 
 
 
Two Monkeys by Brueghel
[From Wikipedia]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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