Countless are

those in Maya’s thrall

chimpanzees one and all,

at rest for a moment,wailing with grief

the very next.

This monkey bedizened in spangles

is set up on a stool to beg.

And the juggler quietly waits

in the town square.

The day’s earnings will be snatched away.

But you will retain that lea-shat your neck,

while time stands

sentinel at your tail.