Monkey

Maybe this head belongs to an old man
sadly reconsidering past errors
or a once-loved treasure
peering     bodiless      from a toybox.

He could of course be an imprisoned enemy
clamped to a wall    & fed on scraps.
Or is he a circus clown
watching the antics of another
on a ladder-top?

More than likely
encased in his box
but never cut by the swords piercing it
he's a music-hall trick.

His eyes are widely remembering. . .
His nose is pinched & flattened. . .
His compressed mouth is thinly stringlike. . .

Presently discarded USELESS
he'll fling himself
(bag of bones - but happily grinning      shouting)
headlong into his forest again!