The Vibrant Channeled Creator

Banana School


by Billy Collins

The day I learned that monkeys


as well as chimps, baboons, and gorillas


all peel their bananas from the other end


and use the end we peel from as a handle,


I immediately made the switch.

I wasted no time in passing this wisdom on
to family

friends, and even strangers


as I am now passing it on to you—


a tip from the top,

the banana scoop,


the inside primate lowdown.

I promise: once you try it


you will never go back except


to regret the long error of your ways

And if you do not believe me,


swing by the local zoo some afternoon.


with a banana in your pocket


and try peeling it in front of the cage


of an orangutan or capuchin monkey,


and as you begin, notice


how the monkeys stop what they’re doing,


if they are doing anything at all,


to nod their brotherly approval through the bars.

Better still, try it out on the big silver

back gorilla.


See if you can get his dark eyes to brighten a bit


as the weight of him sits there in his cage


the same way Gertrude Stein is sitting


in that portrait of her she never liked by Picasso.
 
Billy Collins, “Banana School” from Whale Day and Other Poems. © 2020 Billy Collins published by Random House, 2020.