An American Monkey Prays in Tibet

Her owner had a spiritual awakening

Which resulted in a trip

A very expensive trip

Smuggling her to Tibet

Where he wanted to set her free

In a temple

With wild monkeys

Who would presumably murder her

As soon as she appeared

The American monkey thought of this

And was concerned

But a monkey has only so much agency

In its life

When it starts out in a zoo

And is then bought by a millionaire

Who gifts the monkey to her young daughter

Who then grows up

Finds clarity in a new religion

That’s a mix of yoga and science fiction

And decides that the first step

To enlightenment

Is to free your monkey

Why Tibet?
Why not?

The monkey was actually an Indian monkey

And India would have been a lovely spot

For a photo op

Which was also on the owner’s mind

But the owner’s assistant convinced her

That India wasn’t as hot now

As it had been in the past

Too many other people

Going there

To have a metaphysical experience

Tibet had been the place

Then it wasn’t anymore

For--political reasons?
Maybe?

But now it was back

And so the owner booked the flight

And paid off the smuggler

To get the monkey inside the country

Have I told you the monkey’s name yet?

Oh yes

Sorry

It’s Gigi

And when Gigi arrives in Tibet

She’s whisked to a temple

Where her owner meets her

And--while being filmed by the assistant

Who has also made the trip

For this very reason--

The owner holds up Gigi as high as she can

As though she’s reenacting The Lion King

And says--

Be free

Then she puts her down
And Gigi just stands there

Ruining the video

It’s okay, says the owner,

A millionaire’s daughter,

She’s always been a little bit

Ungrateful

The American monkey named Gigi

Stands in front of the temple

And hears the cries

Of non-American monkeys

Lurking within the confines

Of heightened sanctimony

Gigi knows this means

She will die here

In this place where she doesn’t belong

But she’s never really been anywhere

She’s belonged

She was born in a zoo

Then taken to the millionaire’s house

Specifically the beach house

Which is where the owner’s birthday

Was held that year

She’s spent her short lifetime

Trying to hold onto environments

The same way someone

Would try to hold onto a lifeboat

If it was on fire

It’ll kill you

But what other choice

Do you have?

The American monkey

Makes her way into the temple

And finds a small spot

Where she can shelter herself

And even some picked over jungle fruit

That some other monkey

Must have left behind

She nibbles it

Then prepares to sleep

Believing that from now on

This will be her meditation

Sleeping, snacking

And trying not to attract the attention

Of other, bigger monkeys

As she drifts off

She says a little prayer

That will remain private

Because enough has happened to Gigi

And we don’t need to take the one thing she has left

That being privacy

And remove it as well

But it was a lovely little prayer

And as the Tibetan moon

Swayed light and brilliant in the sky

Gigi fell asleep on the cool temple stone floor

And dreamed the dreams

Of the loved and lost