Hong Kong Monkey

In the Shing Mun Country Park
his hairy right hand rests
on the fence. My second cousin

once
removed by countless millennia.
His sad eyes stare

into my soul
a creature
born to be free but caged

by forces beyond its control.
Can he see the difference
between us? He lives

in the present
so can never know
his destiny but then

neither can I
apart from knowing
one day we will die.

He turns,
waves his tail and runs
to pick up a banana.

It seemed he looked directly at me
so intently but think again -
perhaps he could see through me.