Wood Monkey

Lunar New Year fell on Feb 16. Anyone born before that date belongs to the previous year (Goat).

Monkeys think faster than they talk and talk faster than they act. They can explain something complicated in three sentences and find the most interesting person in any crowd within minutes. Rules read to them as defaults: route around if possible, comply only when cornered. They come off as quick, funny, restless. What is hidden is that jokes are often a lid, and the loudest laugh in the room may be sitting on top of the least certain feeling. They are also the friend who fixes your phone, then explains the joke you missed three days ago.

The pomegranate has been cut back several times, scars at the joints, and the fruit has grown heavy enough to bow the branch. People like this are quick, but the quickness was carved into them: many drafts, plenty of correction, until the hand became this solid. They accept the advice out loud and keep a private ledger of which cut was worth it. Their work is tidy and free of filler. When the fruit is ripe they pick it.