"the owl and the chimpanzee" by Jo Camacho
The owl and the chimpanzee went to sea
In a beautiful boat called The Mind
The owl was sensible, clever and smart
The chimp was a little behind
The owl made decisions, based on fact
And knew where to steer its ship
The chimp reacted a little too fast
And often the boat would tip
The waves would come and crash aboard
The chimp would start to cry
Large tears would roll right down his face
Afraid that he would die
The chimp and the owl would wrestle at night
When the world was quiet and still
The chimp would jump up and rock the boat
And the boat would start to fill
Then the owl stepped in and grabbed a pail
And started to empty it out
And the chimp would start to get quite cross
And would often scream and shout
The battle continued night after night
Until the chimp started to see
That if it let the owl take control
A more peaceful night it would be
This poem by clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist Jo Camacho beautifully articulates the internal battle many of us face when the more primitive part of our brain (the chimp brain) takes control. The wise owl within all of us is seen here fighting with the chimp who seems determined to make the situation worse, despite its fears of the situation worsening.
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This entire poem takes a look at what happens when we let bad things take over our lives, one of those things being fear. In this poem I believe that the owl is good thoughts and good feelings. So like the poem says, if we let the owl take control, if we let those good feelings and thoughts settle in, then we will have a much more peaceful night.
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I believe a metaphor can be found in the mentions of the boat filling with water. What I took away from these lines was the water could represent something as simple as a stressful situation or as complex as emotional trauma or event. Its essentially making the comparison between a boat filling with water and our minds filling with overwhelming thoughts and emotion.
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“Beautiful boat” creates a B sound early on in this line from the poem.
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Mind = Boat
This will ask the reader to consider the properties of a boat. The events described within the poem will affect “the boat” or the mind of the person as the piece develops.
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This metaphor relates the boat tipping to a mental imbalance or episode. Throughout the weekly work texts given, mental health is the constant topic. The boat tipping could be inferred as an anxiety attack, panic attack, a depressive episode, or many other reactions to a strong mental imbalance.
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This line shows how the innerworkings of our mind are constantly at battle. The “fight” between the owl, the sensible, and thoughtful part of our brain, is fighting the chimp, the part of our brain that takes action rather then thinking. These two fighting companions describe the choices we have during stressful situations, to freak out, or take control.
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This line is about the struggle between the chimp and the owl which signifies the struggle within the mind. This line is the main point of the piece.
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This poem reminds me of “The Owl and the Pussy Cat.”
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The poem follows an “a-b-c-b” rhyme scheme, known as a ballad quatrain.
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Rhyme occurs with the last word of nearly every other line. Some examples include ship and tip, die and cry, and still and fill. This rhyme scheme helps keep a steady flow throughout the poem. Though not every system of every other line ends with a rhyme, as the rhyme scheme does break in a couple places, most of the poem does and this helps the reader to follow along and draw out a meaning from the poem. The rhyme scheme leads to the steady flow, despite this author not necessarily being the most seasoned poet.
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We’re asked as the reader to consider the expected behaviors of the “chimp” and the “owl” in order to have an appreciation of the interplay between the two.
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From what I’ve gathered from this poem, it shows two creatures with different personalities. We have the owl, known as the “wise old owl,” and the chimpanzee, that mainly uses fear and desire instead of knowledge and decision making. Just by naming this boat “The Mind,” I can infer this poem’s purpose is to show what could possibly happen if the “chimpanzee” takes control of our mind. The last two lines of this poem “The Owl and the Chimpanzee,” Shows us if we simply ignore the fear and emotions and let the “owl” take control “a more peaceful night it would be”
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This poem is used as an analogy on the subject of our minds. The owl, the sensible and logical character, relates to the part of our mind that solves problems. This part of our mind can act calmly and collectively during times of distress. The other character, the chimpanzee, acts out of fear and emotion. During times of distress, this part of our mind can become present as well. All together these two unalike characters ride along in their beautiful boat called ¨The Mind.¨ The owl and chimpanzee in our minds are contradictory friends, but they make us whole and human!
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