Michele Heeney invites readers to recognize a little of themselves in “The Monkey Tree: New and Selected Poems,” published by The Ewings Publishing LLC. Through 52 poems that move between humor and tenderness, Heeney explores the feelings people carry into their relationships, their memories, and the quiet moments when they are left alone with their thoughts.
At the center of the collection is a familiar troublemaker: the monkey who refuses to behave. In “The Impolite, Always Right Monkey,” he interrupts conversations, challenges long-held beliefs, and makes himself unwelcome. In “The Scheming, Dreaming Monkey,” he is too busy imagining an escape to enjoy the day in front of him. These playful figures give recognizable human habits a voice and a personality.
The monkey also gets his own say. In “A Few Words From the Monkey,” he turns his attention to a human who follows every rule and leaves little room for adventure. The change in perspective adds another question to the collection: how much of life do people miss when they are determined to remain sensible and in control?
Alongside this humor, Heeney makes room for emotions that can be difficult to put into words. “After Love” approaches forgiveness through friendship, memories of parents, and spiritual reflection. “With Me” offers the comfort of being accepted without pretense. Its closing invitation, “With me / Just be / No less / No more,” captures the warmth of a relationship in which a person can feel at ease.
Love takes several forms throughout the book. There is the ache of separation, the sting of a careless remark, and the realization that trying to become someone else cannot make another person stay. Heeney gives these experiences a direct, personal language. Readers may recognize a past relationship in one poem and find words for a feeling they are living with now in another.
Nature offers its own language for memory and belonging. “New Mexican Sky” looks upward with wonder, while “Back East” returns to the Pennsylvania hills of childhood and the longing for home after loved ones are gone. “New Mexico Dream” brings desert landscapes into conversation with the pull of greener places.
Across these poems, geography becomes closely tied to the places people carry within them.
The collection also finds humor in aging, creativity, and everyday attachments. “My Horse, Cuerpo” imagines the body as an old horse that has carried its rider through a lifetime of adventures. “The Dig” follows the mind as it uncovers memories and words in the early hours of the morning. “Miss Boo Cat” brings a lighter turn to the worry and affection that can come with loving an unpredictable animal.
Many of the poems are brief, giving readers room to pause between them. Their changing moods make the collection easy to approach a few pages at a time. A sharp observation may lead to laughter; a memory of home may invite a longer pause. For readers returning to poetry or picking up a collection for the first time, the book offers familiar experiences to begin with and questions to keep considering.
“The Monkey Tree” also opens a path to more of Heeney's writing. “My Paper Children” brings together poems and photographs spanning 45 years, with work connected to Pennsylvania, West Africa, Mexico, Hawaii, California, and New Mexico. “The Polka Dot Chair:”New and Selected Poems explores spirit, love, time, nature, art, and politics. Both offer further ways to experience her attention to the emotional and visual details of life.
“Take Any Ship That Sails” draws from decades of poetry inspired by different places and stages of life, exploring nature, love, art, and personal growth. Her earlier books also include Keep the Change. Readers who prefer Spanish can explore El Arbol del Mono, the Spanish-language edition of “The Monkey Tree.”
Together, these titles give readers several ways to continue discovering her work.
Order “The Monkey Tree: New and Selected Poems” today from The Ewings Publishing bookstore in paperback, hardcover, or ebook. Choose a copy for yourself or give one to a friend who enjoys poetry with humor and emotional honesty.
Add “My Paper Children,” “The Polka Dot Chair,” or “Take Any Ship That Sails” to your order and discover more of Heeney's writing.
Purchase The Monkey Tree: https://www.theewingspublishing.com/product/the-monkey-tree/
Explore the author and her books: https://www.micheleheeney.com/
About Michele Heeney
Michele Heeney is a poet and photographer whose work draws on a life of nursing, travel, and close observation of nature. Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, she later worked in California as an obstetrics and gynecology nurse practitioner. Her experiences include Peace Corps service in West Africa and caring for a ranch near the Big Sur wilderness. She lives and writes in Cochiti Lake, New Mexico.
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