Life Sentence on Death Row

Back and forth the monkey paces Alone is his small backyard cage. He did not make his cramped cage, But the small cage makes him. Far away, he sees children in a park Running free and laughing. He also sees birds flying free And singing far from his small cage. But in his barred cramped world, He can only take short paces Then swing rhythmically back and forth, Back and forth, among the bars, From day to day and year to year. The monkey does not laugh or sing, And no one plays with him. Long ago, when he was young, He ran free in a jungle with his brothers. But now, he only takes short paces Then swings back and forth, And back and forth, Waiting for a solitary death That may not come for years.