A tiger paces his cage
Back and forth
Furrowing the dirt
Forgetting his majesty
An executive fixes his tie in the mirror
Practicing his speech
To his wife and daughter
What will they say?
When he can\'t pay the mortgage
Any more
A monkey hangs from a railing
Picking passerbys pockets
He steals wallets
Keys, and protein bars
Once, he stole a suicide note
He unfolded it behind the food court
Mouth full of almonds
Tracing the letters
With grubby fingers
Not understanding the weight
But sensing the hurt
The tiger growls at dusk
Not out of anger
But hunger for something
He can’t name
The executive sits in his car
Forehead to the steering wheel
Tie loosened
Searching his breath
For a scrap of courage
To walk inside
And the monkey—
He tucks the note
Into a planter by the escalator,
Where a janitor finds it later
And reads it
And decides to call
His estranged brother
For the first time in years