As a first test that this works, add the following to your .crawlrc:

< function test_mon() local m = monster.get_monster_at(1, 0) if m then crawl.mpr("damage: " .. m:damage_desc()) else crawl.mpr("no monster") end end >

Bind the macro "===test_mon" to some key, stand to the left of a creature, and invoke the macro.