
its really good in the summer
best enjoyed with fresh pasta
loved by many
hated by a few
sometimes its really sweet
other times it can be rotten
so easily crushed
must be delicately handled
hard to imagine a world without it

its really good in the summer
best enjoyed with fresh pasta
loved by many
hated by a few
sometimes its really sweet
other times it can be rotten
so easily crushed
must be delicately handled
hard to imagine a world without it

there I was sitting inside for what seemed like an eternity
waiting for the cable company to show up
we had been sent new TV cable boxes and a modem
supposedly to fix our erratic TV reception
but after hours on the phone being walked through the installation
we still could not get the TV to work properly
they finally gave up and agreed to send a technician
promising to come within a two hour window
but they often break their promises
sometimes not showing up at all
would today be any different I wondered
I thought about using the two hour window myself
next time I need an appointment for the doctor
I will give them a two hour window for my arrival
and the doctor must be ready for me as soon as I show up
it will be the same when I go to the dentist or attorney
no more hanging around in waiting rooms
they can all wait for me to show up
If I get to the place at the start of the window
I will sit outside in my car for an hour or more
breezing in with five minutes left in the window
I was thinking of going out for dinner that nightt
A reservation for 7pm is too tight for me
lets say anytime between 6 and 8 pm
then I might see a movie after dinner
the screening time was 9.30 pm but would call the theatre
telling them to hold off starting the movie until I show up
sometime in my two hour window
this will start a revolution
everybody will live in their own little windows
just a few clicks and the Uber driver is on his way
to pick you up somewhere between 3 and 5 pm
If you get seriously ill just call 911 and ask for an ambulance
they will show up with flashing lights sometime in the next two hours
then there was a knock at the door
it was the cable company technition
he arrived bang in the middle of the window
quickly repairing the bad cable connection in the street outside
he did the install of the new equipment himself in minutes
he was courteous and explained every button on the new remotes
making sure we were comfortable operating everything
I asked him what he thought about the appointment window thing
surprisingly he confessed that it was obviously infuriating for customers
revealing they were piloting a new system to keep customers better informed
sending multiple text updates to accurately predict technician arrival times
so that customers no longer had to wait around for hours in the dark
I was so happy to learn that the cable company was breaking windows
lets hope others will follow suit
its no fun living in somebody else’s window

they say travel broadens the mind
exposing you to previously unseen things
diving into different cultures
taking you out of your comfort zone
it can also create long lasting memories
we took a trip to Portugal in 2018
exploring the cities of Lisbon and Porto
visiting wineries and tasting delicious port wine
we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary
in a small town called Pinhoa
deep in the heart of the wine country
on the banks of the river Douro
eating lunch in a small restaurant overlooking the river
followed by an afternoon stroll through the town
chatting to the non-English speaking store owners
communicating through gestures pointing and smiles
we stumbled upon a wine store
the owner spoke perfect English
helping us chose a rare ten year old vintage port
directing us to a late afternoon river boat cruise
boarding a small traditional flat bottomed Rabelo boat
originally used to transport people and goods
on the shallow fast moving waters of the Douro river
which has since been calmed by many dams
there was only one other couple on that boat
a father and daughter from South America
touring Europe to celebrate his retirement
chatting as the boat glided through breathtaking scenery
the boat captain miraculously had clean glasses
toasting our 10th anniversary with our new friends
sipping on 10 year old vintage port
swapping life stories in the short one hour trip
declaring 2008 to be a fine vintage year
making lifelong memories on the Douro river

today we reached the big milestone of 1,000 postings on Cheeky Monkey Poetry!
this is enough material for 10 poetry books!
our first post was on May 31, 2021
its been a wild ride over the last three years
here are some of the events that occurred during this period
the Covid 19 Pandemic declined and officially ended
Russia invaded Ukraine
Cheeky Monkey Poetry attracted over 300 followers
Apple Stock reached $3 trillion
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock
Sam Obrien and JH Huzzah made guest appearances on Cheeky Monkey Poetry
the word game Wordle went viral
microplastics were discovered in human blood
the titan tourist submarine imploded
Cheeky Monkey Poetry followers made over 2,600 likes and 1,000 comments
Roe v. Wade was overturned
Queen Elizabeth II died
Nasa sent a rocket to an asteroid
Elon Musk bought Twitter
5 short stories appeared on Cheeky Monkey Poetry
world population reached 8 billion
Argentina won the world cup
earthquakes in Syria and Turkey killed 50,000 people
Hamas invaded Israel and a war started
former President Trump went on trial in New York
Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp retired
more than 220,000 words were published on Cheeky Monkey Poetry
…………………………………………….<>……………………………………………………………..
a big thank you to our website production team Addison and Abby
what started as a daily poem for one year challenge just kept rolling
we are planning a major overhaul of the website later this year
we hope you continue to enjoy these daily musings

STAY CHEEKY MY FRIENDS

she placed the red cushion on the blue leather chair
gently fluffing and arranging it neatly
it looked perfect in her eyes
almost too good to sit on she thought
he came in and slouched in the chair
falling asleep after a few beers
god bless him she thought
he had a hard day at work
she watched TV while he slept
tuning into her home decorating shows
after a few hours he woke up
he stretched and walked away
she looked at the crumpled red cushion
distorted and mangled like a blood stained corpse
crushed to death by her overweight husband
empty beer cans and snack crumbs are his calling cards
he came back into the room carrying a beer and snacks
she could feel the pain of her red cushion as he flopped down
he cracked open the beer can
it fizzed and exploded covering him in a sea of beer foam
he jumped up and dropped the dripping can
it landed on the crumpled red cushion
soaking the innocent red corpse in beer
his big feet trampled the dropped snacks deep into the carpet
they made eye contact but did not speak
her eyes were saying you totally ruined my decor
you big fat untidy disgusting drunken cushion murderer
his eyes were saying shit that was the last beer in the fridge

Oh glorious May in Maryland
Bridging spring into summer
Longer days and shorter nights
A time to sow seeds and plant flowers
Oh glorious May in Maryland
Do some spring cleaning
Blast everything outside with the power washer
Turn on the lawn irrigation
Oh glorious May in Maryland
Wake up early for sunrises
Listen to the dawn chorus
Take breakfast on the screen porch
Oh glorious May in Maryland
Go for a bike ride or take a walk
A few hours decluttering
Hauling away trash and donations
Oh glorious May in Maryland
You can be wet and windy
Some May days are cooler than we like
But we forgive you
Oh glorious May in Maryland
Lets take a break and do a Happy Hour
Get ready for summer fun days
May days are play days in Maryland

Today I celebrated a Birthday of 3 score and 10
An age not reached by many fine men
Feeling blessed to have made it to this special day
Reflecting upon the bullets I dodged along the way
Proud to have raised a couple of awesome kids
I still picture them as tiny babies inside my closed eyelids
They have long since fled the nest to forge their own way
But I still think about them every single day
Their birthday wishes today brought me infinite joy
I felt like a child receiving a shiny new toy
Greetings from so many friends today filled me with glee
I made firm promises to find time to them soon see
For time passes faster as we are so busy and get older
There are sad moments when we want to cry on a shoulder
Its so comforting to lean on a soulmate in times of uncertainty
If you have no soulmate then just lean on the Cheeky Monkey
We are here to bring you daily words of wisdom and jest
Making you smile or maybe jolt you out of feeling depressed
In a world that seems full of wars, chaos and infinite strife
The Cheeky Monkey injects a daily dose of poetry into your life
STAY CHEEKY MY FRIENDS!!!!!

I watched another sunset recently
the sky was deep orange
reflected in the city skyline
the air was warm and heavy
another summer is beginning
adventures captured in images
safely stored in my phone
and backed up to my cloud
some shared with friends via text
others posted on social media
gone are the days of printed photographs
carefully arranged in albums
my old albums are consigned to storage
along with all the transparencies
that meticulously recorded my vacations
no more boring slide shows in my darkened living room
now I can bore people remotely
clutter their smart phones with my images
which they will back up to their clouds
lest they ever need to find it
whatever happened to capturing moments
into the cloud of your mind
to be recalled as happy memories
stories being told to your family and friends
our children will remember those stories
as a legacy of our time on this planet
nobody really needs a smart phone
to remember how orange the sky was

Jane was devastated when her mother passed away
she had lived a long life full of love for her family
over fifty years of marriage to a devoted husband
raising three children who were now all married
Jane did her best to console her grieving father
she took the lead in arranging the funeral
her father granted her power of attorney
his wife had handled everything financial in their long marriage
many months later she visited with her father
he was still in mourning and very sad
he did not have the strength to go through his wife belongings
Jane stepped up again and started to clean out her mothers closet
her mother had kept so many things from the past
her own faded wedding dress
the first worn shoes from each of her three children
every single school report card good and bad for each child
Jane took her time looking at all her mothers possessions
it was like turning the clock back to her own childhood
reliving the past through objects and photographs
it was a daunting task to sift through so many memories
she decided to put everything into categories
things to be kept for her father to treasure
other items to be shared with her two brothers
unwanted stuff would be donated or thrown away
it was relatively easy to decide who would get things to keep
but ever so hard to consign anything to be discarded
she felt it was disrespectful to her mothers memory
but the volume was so great it had to be done
she came across a small box tied with pink ribbons
letters from an old family friend to her mother
recording the intimate details of their long running affair
should she share her mother’s infidelity with the family or keep it secret