A Tiger, a Tie, and a Monkey with a Note

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