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To Know
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The Purple - Faced Langur is an Old World monkey endemic
to Sri Lanka. They are long-tailed, arboreal, mostly brown species
with a dark face and a very shy nature. They live in closed canopy
forests in Sri Lanka's mountains and the southwestern part of the
country, known as the "wet zone". They are mostly folivorous, but
will also feed on fruits like Dimocarpus longan and Drypetes sepiaria,
flowers, and seeds. While they normally avoid human habitations,
fruit such as jak, rambutan, banana, and mango may contribute up
to 50% to their diet in cultivated areas. Their digestive tract,
with its specialized stomach bacteria, has evolved to derive the
majority of their required nutrients and energy from complex carbohydrates
found in leaves. Males are usually larger than females and both
have black to grayish brown coats, and whitish to gray short 'trousers'
rounded off by purplish-black faces with white sideburns. Part of
the back is covered with whitish fur, and tail is also furred with
black and white mixed colors. Feet, and hands are also purplish-black
in color. They use vocalization to alert members of predators, attract
mates, defend territory, and locate group members. Like humans,
adult males are the most vocal among the entire group and their
defensive whooping calls are also accompanied by intense visual
and locomotive displays. Their range has constricted greatly in
the face of human encroachment, although it can still be seen in
Sinharaja, Kitulgala, Kandalama, Mihintale, in the mountains at
Horton Plains National Park or in the rainforest city of Galle.
Populations are critically low within and between sites. Threats
to this species include infringement on range by croplands, grazing,
changing agriculture, road production, soil loss/erosion and deforestation,
poisoning from prevention of crop raiding, and hunting for medicine
and food.
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Abuelo's Last Wish: Independence
by
Andrés Castro
1970: The Mainland
Abuelo was tall, skeletal, black hair wavy thick,
brown eyes set deep above nose, straight razor
shaven square jowls—splash of pungent bay rum.
White shirt Chinese laundered, grey Bogart suits,
vested time piece, black fedora, shoes wing-tipped
brown, shirtless days climbing jerry-built scaffold,
set against old two-story wood home in the Bronx.
Days happiest spent shingling the roof, painting
gardening. Sundays very best, a big breakfast, La
Igleisa Christiana, then home, sitting on the porch,
singing hymns to vines of red roses and listening god.
Oh si yo quiero viver con Cristo,
Oh si yo quiero andar con Cristo,
Oh si yo quiero morir con Cristo,
Quiero serle un testigo fiel.
1971: Boriken
Returned to dirt road snaking by open fields, palm
trees, abandoned plantations, ending at green lagoon,
stony farmland, corrugated tin-roofed shack up on
brick stilts, fenced in by thin wood slats chicken wire.
Black-spotted mangoes hanging from short bushy trees;
red orange white chickens trotting around piglets: tiny
green lizards playing tag on brown outhouse doors; old
goat with wise feminine eyes nibbling at a collar rope,
porch window screened, shirtless Abuelo hunched over
sun-bleached workbench, listening to a radio antique,
smiling, gnarled fingers rolling cigars, he would not sell.
Notes: Boriken: pre-Columbian name
given to Puerto Rico by its indigenous Taino people. Spain's colony
for 400 years, 8 days after being granted autonomy, becomes de facto
colony of the U.S. after invasion of 1898. Due to island's easy to occupy
small size, is ground zero for brutal experimentation and exploitation
by U.S. industrial/government/military complex. By 1960, U.S. Gov. subsidized
corporations owned most of island's wealth producing land, resources-poor
& working class fully subjugated. Gov. is now bankrupt. Over 45% of
population lives below U.S. poverty line. December 9, 2015, GOP blocked
proposed bankruptcy bill that would allow P.R. to restructure its debt.
Austerity schemes including cuts to public services and primary to higher
education to follow. Check my facts. Recommend recently released Nelson
A. Denis' War Against All Puerto Ricans and David Talbot's The Devil's
Chessboard.
Andrés Castro is a PEN member/volunteer and is also listed in the Directory
of Poets and Writers. This poem first appeared in The Acentos Review.
More recently, his work appeared in Pilgrimage, Counterpunch, New
Verse News, and Montreal Serai. He maintains a blog for new
and not so new practicing poets: https://thepracticingpoet.edublogs.org.
An earlier version of "Abuelo's Last Wish: Independence" first appeared
in The Acentos Review.
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Purple-Faced
Langur - Issue Thirty