No More Monkeys - Diane Scantlebury

They’ve torn down the trees
That held the ground,
And built concrete castles
For human pleasure,
Now not a single monkey
Can be found,
Cause they’ve displeased
The gods of leisure,

They’ve ripped up the coral
From the sea
Against the locals’ wishes,
Shipped in tons of sterile sand
And killed all the beautiful fishes,

They’ve put up fences
And posted a guard,
Access for ‘residents’
Everyone else barred,
Paying guests only on the beach,
Leisure for poor locals
Now out of their reach,

No more trees,
No more sound,
No more monkeys in this town,
Now that the golden sands
Are out of reach,
There’ll be no more monkeys
On the beach!

Diane Scantlebury