Small White Monkeys

'The Engine' was a poem about another world. Inhabiting this world was a brood of small white monkeys that moved around like injured birds, like furtive healthy birds, like monkeys. "It took me too long to recognise 'The Engine' for what it was - the story of my life until now, or quite recently. It took me longer still to recognise the monkeys for what they were, collectively: my white symbol of shame" (from small white monkeys). Small white monkeys is a fragmented essay, including poems and images, on self-expression, self-help and shame. Beginning with the image of the small white monkeys,…