The Recidivist by Zak Mucha

Owning just one monkey, if it weighs under
30 lbs., is not illegal in Houston where

neighbors saw a little gray face peeking through the
front room curtains of the guy out on bond since

Christmas for a self-defense sort of homicide
when his full-grown tiger loped like time itself

through the side yard and into the cul-de-sac
with cops yelling at the animal as it followed

his human into a pick-up truck and drove off.
Their lawyer later said just because they

shared a ride doesnā€™t mean they are together.
But now heā€™s got a new lawyer for the monkey.

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Zak Mucha, LCSW, is a psychoanalyst and president of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. He is the author of The Ambulatorium and Swimming to the Horizon: Crack, Psychosis, and Street-Corner Social Work.

Poet’s Instagram: @zakmucha

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Mad in America hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. These posts are designed to serve as a public forum for a discussionā€”broadly speakingā€”of psychiatry and its treatments. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own.

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