Monkey Shines - villanelle
by Penelope (Member) - published: April 6, 2008
Word Count: 151 Word Bytes: 1257 Viewed: 363 times
Category - Poetry
© Copyright by Penelope

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It’s nothing new, Monkey see, Monkey do,
unless they are wise and cover their eyes.
Surprise, surprise, they ape sapiens too.

Nimble nit pickers within their milieu
of well groomed ties between tribal allies.
It’s nothing new, Monkey see, Monkey do.

An organ grinder’s urchin awaits his cue
to do the deed of solicit shanghais.
Surprise, surprise, they ape sapiens too.

Monkeys overrun temples with bold ballyhoo
as see all stone gods disguise stolid sighs.
It’s nothing new, Monkey see, Monkey do,

It’s the zaniest madhouse at the zoo.
Slapstick antics and chatterbox cries.
Surprise, surprise, they ape sapiens too.

A mirror montage, just slightly askew,
chock a block with magpies and gadflies.
It’s nothing new, Monkey see, Monkey do.
Surprise, surprise, they ape sapiens too.

Penelope Allen
April 5, 2008

CPC Monkey Stamp

Sir William Churchill wrote:

Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.

------
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" - Eleanor Roosevelt

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Comments

The following comments are for "Monkey Shines - villanelle"
by Penelope

Monkey Shines-I.Q.?
Hello there Penelope,
I am a lover of poetry but I have to be honest, since I've started posting my pieces on websites I've learned,
I DON'T KNOW S@#T ABOUT WRITING POETRY!!!!!!!
I'm sorry but I tried to read and understand your piece here, (the reason I say piece is because I view poetry as pieces of the poet), and what I think is going on is a.........an observation of play. Is that anywhere near correct? Please be honest if I'm incorrect.

I have always been an inverted person so I've pretty much not only kept to myself but that goes for my writing as well. Once I got into therapy and started showing my writings, people ,(counselors), would constantly tell me to share my works. But now that I am ???????????
I am getting a little embarrest to even post. Some of the things I've read??????????

Sorry. Must be PMSing! I'm sorry but I don/t think I understand your work here. But it, as far as I think I understand< is cute/funny?

I'm gonna??????????
I'll keepreading and trying to understand.
Tammy

( Posted by: TAMMYHENDRIX [Member] On: April 6, 2008 )

Tammy
I didn't know poop about poetry either when I first began visiting poetry sites in 2003. I discovered that the more I read the more I realized how rhyming couplets (which was all I wrote at the time) were only the beginning. One of my earliest discoveries was a villanelle. I've written many since then and even had one published (for money!!). This collection (if you notice there are quite a few other ones in my line-up links at LitOrg right now) are a celebration of the Chinese zodiac. Twelve animals and the monkey is number 9. There is nothing to understand here really. It's a bit of a lark and a personal challenge to complete the series. I've got the Rooster, Dog and Pig left.
Thanks for your comment Tammy and thanks for dropping by. :-)

( Posted by: Penelope [Member] On: April 6, 2008 )

Pen's monkey
Pen, don't sell yourself short. Not many of us on here can write these villanelles anywhere near as well as you. That you have chosen the chinese zodiac only amplifies the scope of your prowess as a poet.

You just keep surprising me with the originality of these villanelles. And I stand firm on believing you are our resident nature specialist.

Looking forward to the next three.

( Posted by: desvelado [Member] On: April 6, 2008 )

monkey saw, monkey did
my new favourite in this series, I think, a perfect monkey montage, full of colour and- more importantly- movement… showing too that simian sensibilities are not really so dissimilar to our own…

favourite bit is “ballyhoo”, made me think of the days of the British Raj and Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book… not my favourite thing, person or book, but it conjures an image nonetheless…

beautifully playful, Pen. our undisputed villanelle champion. great stuff.

( Posted by: AuldMiseryGuts [Member] On: April 7, 2008 )

Society in full view
Pen,

This could be an accurate depiction of society's lust to follow trends, regardless of how completely boorish they might be. One example that comes to mind is the current and seemingly ongoing trend that young “men” (boys) between ages 11 and 25 wear their trousers (pants, levis, jeans) about two sizes too big and drooping to nearly their knees. Then there is the “bed head” hair style that both male and female trendies sport in public. Monkey see, monkey do, that’s about right.

As always, great villinela

BW

( Posted by: BWOz [Member] On: April 7, 2008 )

desvelado/Shannon/Brian
S. Toscano - excellent name by the way - thanks for your comment. I don't believe I'm selling myself short simply because I still believe I'm within a poetry learning curve. With this villanelle I already discovered I missed a fabulous pun (I love puns!) when I used 'stolid' when I could have chose idol/idle in the 4th tercet (or whatever they are called). I've done an edit of my 'in-house' villanelle to rectify this and will change this one once it's off the front page. A confession - I don't much like monkeys and while it made writing this more difficult, I couldn't sell the monkey short. It seems disrespectful to me to allow personal bias to cloud my composing. Appreciate your comments very much.
Shannon - I find it charming that you've now adopted this villanelle as your favourite. Rudyard Kipling wrote some fabulous poetry! His poem 'If' provides a solid creed to live by and I have often reminded myself of the points he made. The Raj? Well... as a history buff, it intrigues me. I own the entire series 'A Jewel In The Crown' and consider myself lucky! I think it's the best in-depth look at that time in India. Ballyhoo, to me, is totally IRISH! Thanks for your kudos my friend.
Brian - yes, of course. The monkey comes closest to aping people for so many reasons. Much of this villanelle points to that. It would be hard to write about Monkeys without that human element. Thanks for your comment.

( Posted by: Penelope [Member] On: April 7, 2008 )

Ape Sapiens
I loved this phrase!
Are you familiar with Billy Collin's parody of the villanelle? Like Gilbert & Sullivan, it has become what it intended to parody -- elevated by aping sapien poets who took it as a challenge.
Kipling's "If" was the first poem I ever commited to memory (followed by "The Power Of The Dog" then on to Poe's "Bells" -- hmm, too much info?). Anyway, thank you for this.

( Posted by: poeteye [Member] On: April 23, 2008 )

poeteye
No, I'm not familiar with Billy Collins - Michael Collins I know. I'll make sure to do a websearch on Billy now you've mentioned him. I love Gilbert & Sullivan and have attended several of their operettas. I'm glad you enjoyed this Popeye. :-)

( Posted by: Penelope [Member] On: April 24, 2008 )

Pen's monkey villanelle
This villanelle moves like the monkey moves: all over the place, in no particular order and this reader wants to follow it around out of sheer fascination, and for the surprise of what comes next. This is, again, signature you, with a perfect, complete, synchronicity between the subject and the dynamics of this form. It's not that far behind the Rat in its quality, I think.

If we take just the first line of this and read it out loud, the cadence and rhythm command an inflection of the voice such that the reader has no choice: the line reads like a monkey swinging from branch to branch. Period. And this kind of thing can only happen with excellent crafting.

Excellent crafting is also signature you, Pen. The harmony and balance that come from your (now expected) alliterative groupings and internal rhymes, give this villanelle exactly the kind of moody grace the Chinese Zodiac Monkey has.

In reading the comments, I noticed that I would opt for "idle" over "stolid" also.

Something about "see": unwritten here, yet very much present between the lines, because the word "see" is located in a repeating line, I'm getting this visual (sic) of a monkey making eye contact. I think this is essential in this poem. A monkey will not "ape" without having first made eye contact.

Like poeteye, I think aping sapiens is great! I think its intrinsic allusion to evolution is both a connotation and a denotation and calls for quick wit in the reader, as quick as the monkey itself.

Favourite line: "A mirror montage, just slightly askew". This line speaks not only for itself but for the entire poem in that it is a tribute to consistency of excellence. Often, a poem's intensity will fade towards the end, and affect its texture, but not here...Here, the imagery is just as sustained at the end of the villanelle as at the beginning.

Not right now, but I will look up what I didn't read and comment on yet.

Thank you for much light-hearted singsong verse in this, totally congruent with Monkey!

Lucie

( Posted by: windchime [Member] On: April 26, 2008 )

Lucie
12 villanelles! I must have been mad! They are becoming more difficult as I progress through the years. I finally buckled down and finished the Rooster and can now move on to the Dog.

I agree with you about the movement of this poem. All over the place indeed. While it was easy, for me, to include catch phrases familiar to the monkey it was much harder to create something likable.

I see that you prefer idle over idol - I will take that under advisement. heh heh.

My favourite line is
Quote:

unless they are wise and cover their eyes.

Reminds me of that kitschy trio which seem so odd to me.

Now Dog - then on to a Pig finale!

As always, I so appreciate your review Lucie. You see so much more than I do. Thank you and it's great to see you back.

( Posted by: Penelope [Member] On: April 27, 2008 )

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