The Circus gongs excite the Throngs in nighttime Never Land - <br />They swarm to see the destiny of Freaks at their command, <br />While Acrobats step pitapat above the shifting sands <br />And Lady Fat sits down to chat and oozes charm unplanned. <br /> <br />The Dwarfs in suits, so small and cute when marching with the Band, <br />Ask crimson Clowns with frozen frowns, to hold a mutant hand, <br />While Tamers' whips with withered tips, throughout the winter land, <br />Lure Cats entranced through hoops enhanced with flames of fires fanned. <br /> <br />White Elephants in big-top tents boast black-tusk contraband <br />To regiments of Sycophants who overflow the stands, <br />But No One sees anomalies, and No One understands. <br /> <br />At night's demise, the dither dies, the lonesome Crowd disbands, <br />Down dead-end streets the Horde retreats, their tattered rags in strands, <br />And Janes and Joes reweave their woes, for thoughts of change are banned. <br /> <br />To play a part in Three-Ring Art, I thought I'd try my hand - <br />I mastered skills, I felt the thrills, I breathed and seethed firsthand - <br />But destiny denied to me to taste a lifetime spanned <br />With tightrope walks and trapeze chalks... excepting second-hand... <br /> <br />For alcohol provoked a fall, as if a reprimand, <br />And now, a heap, I sometimes keep the ticket office manned...<br /><br />Terry O'Leary<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-acrobat/
