The Monk Who Would Not Ride On An Elephant

I've had just enough time to...   want to ride on an elephant

Taken in a Hindu temple that we stumbled on by accident in Termeloh, Pahang, Malaysia

To ride on an elephant 

A sultan not a mahout 

High above my subjects 

A subject of envy 

Feeling like a king 

High above all 

Till I met a monk wearing 

A smile 

Walking on bare feet 

He did not want 

To be on the beast 

I can tell 

For some reasons 

That infuriated me 

What pleasure can there be 

To ride on an elephant 

If others are not envious of me? 

So I try to steal his smile 

By fraying his skin 

Though he cried in pain 

As the lashes flew 

His spirit could not be broken 

As I could his bone 

What pleasure can there be 

If I cannot submit 

Every one to my will? 

I rode the elephant back 

To the palace 

And the rain 

Falls on me 

The elephant 

And the monk that I killed

Part II - The Monkey Wearing Its Suit of Armour.

I've had just enough time to...   see the monkey wearing its suit of armour

Taken in the same temple in Kathmandu of the monkey wearing its chain of armour.

The Monkey wrapped itself in chain

Invisible

Only to itself

And the others wonder why

It so willingly

Wears its burden

But the monkey feels safe

In its chains

Of armor

That was how I found the monkey

In the temple

Still wearing its chains

A century after

Part I - The Monkey Holds Its Thorny Fruit.

I've had enough time to...   see the monkey holding the thorny fruit

Taken in a Hindu temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. The monkey was still holding the fruit when I left.

The monkey holds the thorny fruit

It hurts its hand

But it won’t let go

It does not know what to do

Except it desires it

And it knows not why but

The Monkey holds on to it obsessively

And its blood

Stains the floor

That was how I found the monkey

In the temple

Still holding the fruit

A century after