Monkeys

The three monkeys: don’t listen, don’t look,
do not speak. That kind of learning
lives with memories in your wrist, small arm:

Chinese burn, sticks and stones. It’s wise to arm
yourself while crawling. An infant can look
away or down, leave its body, learning

to float from pain to a far cloud; learning
stillness, silence; to hide the black-and-blue arm,
stare at grown-ups with an empty look.