The Fourth Monkey: Poetry with a Purpose

By Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee

Visions of dawnpainted through words. A womans helplessness revealed through poetic meter Ideas, frustrations, and contemplation come to life through rhyme and rhythmic cadence. These poems are written to draw readers into thinking and reacting. The emphasis is more on the meanings of the words, than the words themselves. Here is an excerpt of one of the poems:

Those eyes, once alive and joyful,
Now look so vacant.
That face, once so beautiful,
Is now wrinkled and decadent.
There are more faces like this,
With eyes that long for affection.
Their only fault lies in this,
That old age is their affliction.
Do not forget their contribution,
Do not forget their kind-heartedness,
Do not engage in retribution,
Against those who once gave you happiness

The title of this book, The Fourth Monkey, is also the title of one of Lakshmys poems in this collection, and more or less encompasses the underlying theme of this book. Every poem in this collection has a purpose, whether it is to speak up against archaic beliefs or unjust practices, contemplate on the complications of relationships or life, or simply appreciate natures bounty and the other good things life has to offer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Oct 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482838831

Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee

Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee is a well-traveled poetess and an artist, who experienced an epiphany in January 2014, which prompted her to resume writing and painting after a hiatus of nine years. She likes to write poetry that is founded in realism or pseudo-realism, and calls it ‘poetry with a purpose.’ Her childhood was spent in Africa, specifically, Liberia and Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo). Although she has a full-time job, she uses her free time to write poems and create art. She is originally from Kerala, the southernmost state of India. But she currently lives in Chennai with her husband and daughter.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee.

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4828-3882-4

                Softcover        978-1-4828-3881-7

                eBook             978-1-4828-3883-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Partridge India

000 800 10062 62

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

APPRECIATION

For I Am She

Scent of Happiness

To Our Fallen Patriots

The Greatest Ship

A Moment of Happiness

Blessed

Unconditional

Dilemma of Desires

The Class Reunion

Natural Alchemy

That House On Binza La Belle

CONTEMPLATION

Liberating Skeletons

Mirrors Do Lie

My Rose-Tinted Glasses

The Fourth Monkey

The Story After

The Value of Nothing

Unapologetic

The Feather On My Shoulder

Unrequited Love

The Phoenix Within

Necessity for Chaos

Final Call

Melody of Maladies

Fields of Sunshine

Be My Turtle Dove

Footprints On The Shore

Surreptitious Seduction

Roses Are Not Always Red

Monochromatic Hearts

Hopes For India

Paper Boats

When The Clouds Gather

Ashes Turn To Dust

Cross Culture

The Race

FRUSTRATION

No More

A Dark Heritage

Disguised

Castles in the Air

The Limit

The Makeover

The Trees of Badaun

Childhood, Interrupted

Sorry

The Bargain

To Hell With Hypocrisy

Alice In The Indian Heartland

The Taboo

An Unwitting Muse

Trapped!

Cradle Snatchers

INSPIRATION

The Houseboat of Dreams

Until A Ballad Was Inspired

Lost and Found

A Birthday Sonnet

Visions of Dawn

Monsoon Moments

Marina

Tribute To My Teachers

OBSERVATION

The Pain Beneath The Paint

Her Secret World

Terra Donna Awakens

Their Last Dance

Mischief Accomplished

Duty and Destiny

Stalking Success

The Eagle And The Blue Jays

The Chase

Tryst With A Terrorist

Armed To Disarm

The Downfall Of The Apes

Fame Is A Fickle Mistress

When The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Traitor

To my parents, my husband, Sid, and my daughter, Anju.

About The Book

The Fourth Monkey is a collection of poems that represents Lakshmy’s thoughts, observations, frustrations, and inspirations, derived from everyday life. All her poems deal with realism or pseudo-realism, whether these are social issues, relationships, or nature. She hopes that these poems will have a positive impact and create awareness on the myriad of problems that affect today’s population. The title of this book, The Fourth Monkey, is also the title of one of her poems in this collection, and more or less encompasses the underlying theme of this book. Lakshmy wants her poems to resonate with her readers so that they are able to appreciate and understand the words that they read. Every poem in this collection has a purpose, whether it is to speak up against archaic beliefs or unjust practices, contemplate on the complications of relationships or life, or simply appreciate nature’s bounty and the other good things life has to offer. She wants her poems to offer hope in the face of adversity. The paintings and photos contained in this book are also produced by Lakshmy.

Some of the events described in her poems are based on facts. But all the names of people used in this book are