Effigy

Late at night I hear the monkey’s laughing in the jungle They are burning an effigy And they find it more than amusing They find it comforting. They built it out of broken dreams and green cards. It was no accident that they built it The moon and the tides gave them no choice As it burns the night screams And I wait for the dawn. Tenuous as it may be I can wait For I am still taking apart my nightmares And putting them on the workbench to toil over To reassemble and to ponder I never read the instructions I just go with my gut. As I look through the trees I see the burning light And I wonder why it looks familiar to me. What will the ashes tell the seer? He was a man who lived liked an animal? He was anonymous to feelings and life. Atavistic to the end, destined to die but never to live. Up river they all seem to know the truth It’s simple: keep the primates happy And they will leave your soul alone. I hang my head out of a window and howl at the moon She smiles back benign and hopeful I think about the other side; cold and dark And then I realize the fire in the jungle is to drive away my fear And it all makes sense.