Classic Poem

My duties took me to a spot by the sea —
there to gaze upon a mountain isle I stopped my boat
as I wondered who had denuded it so;
a villager explained it to me and I quote:

" One monkey on the mountain did chatter,
another followed in playful pursuit;
they mated and gave birth to a son —
a host of sons — and still more grandsons to boot.

Lush vegetation covered the mountain,
roots and berries, at first, they easily took;
they clambered up to the highest places
and, crouching, ferreted out every nook.

Each in this host of monkeys made himself sleek and fat,
while the mountain was utterly ravished;
wrangling with each other to fill their stomachs,
on talk of conservation no leisure was lavished.

The big monkeys found the going tough,
the small monkeys were, of course, all the more constrained;
little by little, they nipped and they nibbled,
till not a single blade of grass remained. "

Though the monkey possesses superhuman craft,
he isn't adept at wielding hoe and plow himself;
the craving he has for fruit and grain
is invariably satisfied through pelf.

Alas for this mountain encircled by sea!
On all four sides they spy, but there's nowhere to flee;
while the progression of life goes on without cease
and the year draws to a close, what plan will there be?