The Circus

The Circus

“Come, come, look inside!
See the marvels that abide in our most splendid tent of magic, wonder, and portent!”
So yelled the mad ringmaster, Louis the Crock,who flashed a gold tooth and twirled his baton as he circled the ring and enamored the crowd with a promise of wonders and feats of renown.

The people milled ‘bout him, staring in awe at elephants,tigers,unicorns,fawns,ballerinas in tutus that sparkled in joy, clowns in sad makeup throwing some pie, tight-rope walkers, the fat lady singing, Siamese-twin gymnasts, the bearded woman preening.

But closed doors hid secrets the crowd shouldn’t know:
broken fun-house mirrors,
elephant bones,
a clown’s suicide notes,
human skulls,
caged freaks-of-nature crying for mother,
a ballerina or two chained and shackled,
runaway children,
a chest full of drugs,
still-smoking cigars,
an angry armed mob boss.

So the people kept milling, smiling and grinning, holding hands and licking ice cream cones,watching the fantasy, forgetting reality,and not knowing the truth behind the jokes.