04-04-2015, 09:13 AM
Circus Days
The circus was a song
that started the day they came town
and father caught the tune.
A railroad pocket watch
tarnished next to the brass of the big top;
his fangspanner spent time
taunting imaginary lions.
I've never seen an elephant
smile. Mother follows now
in doleful slowness, tied
to an invisible rope that leads her
from circus to circus.
She never lifts her eyes
to see the high-wire tumblers
flipping like a grifter's
50-cent piece. glinting
in the spotlights. She stares at safety
on the sold ground
and waits.
The circus was a song
that started the day they came town
and father caught the tune.
A railroad pocket watch
tarnished next to the brass of the big top;
his fangspanner spent time
taunting imaginary lions.
I've never seen an elephant
smile. Mother follows now
in doleful slowness, tied
to an invisible rope that leads her
from circus to circus.
She never lifts her eyes
to see the high-wire tumblers
flipping like a grifter's
50-cent piece. glinting
in the spotlights. She stares at safety
on the sold ground
and waits.