my monkey youth

i could do chin ups

all day long,

push ups,

climb the rope without

using my legs

all the way to the top

of the gymnasium ceiling.

i could leap

over the horse,

circle the track

like a gazelle,

swing like a chimp on

the rings.

and now i look across

the street both ways

and wonder

if i can make it

to the other side 

before

the traffic once more

begins.