Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Gorilla And His Grapes


Within a zoo
inside a cage
atop a tray
within a tree
there sits a bunch of grapes.
Next to the tray
filled with grapes
within the tree
atop cement
there rest, Kimu.
The gorilla
grabs a few from the bunch
and with partially curled mitt,
he slaps them into his mouth.
He tosses them around there in.
His lips begin to
play with the sweet fruit
like fingertips on piano keys.
He twirls the grapes around some more.
Suddenly his lips stop moving.
They are gone and he is perplexed.
He pounds his chest
without missing a beat
he extends his leathery hand
and plucks just one.
His fingertips extend slowly
bringing the grape
closer to his mouth.
He nestles it between
his top and bottom lip.
As he begins to move
the grape around in his mouth
his eyes burst with joy.
It was as if he had never tasted
a grape before.




Norman E.Harris, Jr.

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