Monkey, Frog, and the Moon<\/p>\n
by<\/p>\n
Radiance Angelina Petro<\/p>\n
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Monkey sits in the darkness by a spring,<\/p>\n
its crooked finger points at the moon.<\/p>\n
Focus on the moon, frog says, sitting nearby,<\/p>\n
forget the finger. The moon is the goal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Monkey\u2019s face grows silver. The moon is the goal,<\/p>\n
repeats monkey over and over inside, until<\/p>\n
the words become fingers directing its attention–<\/p>\n
which floats away, ribboning a river of mist<\/p>\n
through the branches of the trees, which also point<\/p>\n
at the moon. And then–<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
a firefly alights on the tip of its finger, like<\/p>\n
a lamp emerging from behind a shroud.<\/p>\n
Monkey keeps its attention single-<\/p>\n
mindedly on the moon–the goal.<\/p>\n
Firefly flickers and winks it\u2019s soft, green light.<\/p>\n
And try as it might to not–monkey\u2019s gaze drifts down<\/p>\n
and down until, at last (as pieces of the moon flow away<\/p>\n
in the spring), it rests on the fancy firefly blinking<\/p>\n
its secret, flashing code. Monkey\u2019s eyes became round\u2014<\/p>\n
rounder than the moon, and its mind becomes<\/p>\n
an astonished, satisfied mind,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
and frog widens its definitions of goal and moon,<\/p>\n
and licks its lips, measuring the distance<\/p>\n
between firefly and its glistening, opening mouth.<\/p>\n
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