Breughel’s Two Monkeys (Wislawa Szymborska)

Date August 26, 2008

“Breughel’s Two Monkeys”
This is what I see in my dreams about final exams:
two monkeys, chained to the floor, sit on the windowsill,
the sky behind them flutters,
the sea is taking a bath.
The exam is History of Mankind.
I stammer and hedge.
One monkey stares and listens with mocking disdain,
the other seems to be dreaming away–
but when it’s clear [...]