I’m going to die.
The monkey’s eyes reach through mine, seeping into the depths of my soul. I stay frozen. His curious gaze sinks further into my core, searching for the tiny strands of DNA that differ from his own. The ones that code for his looming murder so that he can understand that no, it is not one of his own who has shoved him into the hell of a wire-mesh cage. It’s not one of his own who’s abandoned him to the vicious heat he cannot escape.
I stare at him in silence, helpless.
He lifts a scraggly finger and strokes the silver wire with extreme care, as if to massage the tiniest gossamer of hope lining the cruel prison, to coax it into action.
He tilts his head at me, like a dog, waiting for me to react.
Please, brother.
I let my eyes slide to the dirt. I look at my shoes. I fake-yawn for a while. Then I take a slow, deep breath. I begin angling my head back towards the monkey.
Please, brother.
Still there. My gaze swerves sharply to study the walled compound, not wanting to meet his eyes again. Kids are roaming around, giggling at the different species they see, sticking their fingers in the cages and making rude faces at the animals. In one corner there is a dining table, and in another, a machete leans against the gray-cinderblock wall. The animals, some near extinction, all await the same fate.
I swivel around to stare the monkey directly in the eye. An invisible laser beam connects us for an instant before he turns his head away, perhaps to avoid conflict.
He is a lost cause. There is no hope for him here. There is nothing I can do.
Hours later men will walk over and remove the monkey from his cage. Then they’ll mutilate him and serve him–still alive–to the children and their parents. The families will eat his brain while it is still sending weak signals to his body, and then the children will fight for pieces of his arms, further maiming his already bloody form.
And all this torture will be by order of the human brain that evolved, so recently, from his own.
I turn and walk away.
-L
The Brighams Of Baltimore 
Hi ,I spent most of the afternoon looking at your amazing pictures and reading your last posts. What a rich experience you had. I ho pe it did not start to blurr.I am still looking for Thailand and Dubai and Japan . It is an experience of a lifetime and hopefully will give your boys a more balanced view of this world. Do you have the impression that the majority of people lives on the other side of the globe? It will also be putt ing things in p erspec tive. Most of the world does not live like us and what we find important maybe is not so. It will be interesting to see how Greer will see the “worldly” people at SPS.I am vacuuming the Hill house. It doesnot need anything until next Spring. Mom
rom: “The Brighams Of Baltimore” To: daycath@rcn.com Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 3:18:11 PM Subject: [New post] Time for change….?
hdbrigham posted: ” I’m going to die. The monkey’s eyes reach through mine, seeping into the depths of my soul. I stay frozen. His curious gaze sinks further into my core, searching for the tiny strands of DNA that differ from his own. The ones that co”
Leland, this is beautifully written and haunting. I am extremely impressed with this piece!
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Leland, what an incredible journey you have had. I don’t know if you wrote with this kind of visual and emotional depth before your trip but I was deeply touched by this piece!