The Circus is one of my society poems, a celebration of showmanship, courage and hard graft in and outside the ring. There’s room for everyone!

The Circus

 The firmament fans the stench of rubber
pegged down into earth covered in sweat-stained sand
lit up by elegant elephants, teary tigers and 
ruled by a man bigger than Walter Mitty

This is no splendid stage, no Broadway, no Shakespear
madmen gather, trollops trot
over blocks, through fiery rings
some hanging by a rope, a thread

Ill-faced clowns tumble
to harvest howls of one hew or another
to swallow idolatry
in greedy gulps

Fat and suited, the ringmaster proclaims
the death-defying darings of the trapezists
a woman, a man condemned to
near-certain demise 

to steal a bunch of unruly onlookers
cheering, sniggering, mouths agape
the candy-munching French fry brigade
from daily doldrum

Up to the top of the firmament /
they venture into a swinging tide
from star to firm grip
a hair's breadth from doom

beneath, clowns, acrobats, horses, jugglers,
fire-eaters, hippos and Harry Houdini
white-knuckled and whipped into shape
by the worst showman

span the redundant net above the soft sand
feathered birds don't cascade to curtain calls
clowns fumble fervor-filled
the tiger roars 

As the firmament spews its last shower of stars
the glory of the sweaty sand and armpits
grits the icy road
outside

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6 thoughts on “Society Poems – The Circus

  1. Do you have any pointers for writing posts? That’s where I always struggle and also I just finish up staring vacant screen for lengthy
    time.

  2. Do you have any suggestions for creating write-ups?

    That’s where I constantly battle and I simply wind up staring
    vacant screen for lengthy time.

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