The Family Circus

The circus is in town!

Look! You have tickets!

No, you may not return them-

Attendance is mandatory so

Pack the family in the car and

LOOK HAPPY!

We know the show is supposed to start at two

We can all read a clock

But some of our best performers are running a bit late

We wouldn't want to begin without them

WOULD WE?

I will be your Master of Ceremonies

Please take a seat

No, not there

Let's begin the show!

For God's sake, try to look like you're ENJOYING yourself!

I know that the magician isn't on the program

I invited him myself

His act hasn't fared well lately so please

Make him feel WELCOME!

Here comes the lion tamer!

Don't you LOVE this part of the show?

A whip and chair versus

Fangs and claws

Will either emerge unscathed?

Too MESSY for you?

Well, here comes the clown to lighten the mood!

Don't be a killjoy-

A little wine never hurt anyone!

 

Yes, we all know the elephant is sad

She tries to be entertaining but

She's just so BIG!

I'm always afraid she'll crush something

or someone!

No, we can't leave her out-

She's part of the show!

What's wrong?

Don't you like the concessions?

Well, you've hardly touched your popcorn!

And we roasted the peanuts just for you!

But don't feel OBLIGATED or anything.

Look up there!

The tightrope walker thinks she's above it all!

It's a fine line 

between up there and down here, sister!

Don't get shaky--

You just may FALL!

Unbelievable!

The show is over already!

Applause, applause!

Drive safely, folks and

We'll see you all here NEXT YEAR!!! 

submitted for Poetry Jam, Under the Big Top

  

The Fringe of Grey

I could cast myself in white

Pure and innocent

and he the man in black

who led me astray

But we both know

We live on the fringe of grey.

I could say I wore baby’s breath in my hair

that he tempted me

with the scent of a red rose

But we both know

The grass was green and damp

and the columbines were in bloom.

I could remember the white of the paper gown

0r the black typeface of the consent form

(the first I had ever signed myself)

(Do you remember being seventeen?)

But I remember most

the blood stain,

my own scarlet “A,”

and the grey brick building

protesters with black and white signs,

yelling about life

and death

(Perhaps you were one of them?)

I could claim that I cast rue and marigold

upon the earth

Rend my clothing in grief

I could swear that I simply forget

Let the day pass each year

without my heart skipping a beat

But we both know
The truth is grey

and it cuts, not cleanly, but with a dull knife

So sometimes I still wonder

What If?

And most times I’m glad

but sometimes I cry.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Kerry's Wednesday Challenge, Breaking the 4th Wall

and Poets United, Wonder Wednesday #9, Shades of Grey

Big Boys Don't Cry

image source

Big boys don't cry

Don't ask why, son

Just dry the tears

Don't let fears show

The years will pass

Scars amass now

A glass heart breaks

A man takes pain

He aches alone

Man has grown up

His own son cries

No more lies told

He tries what's right

Holds him tightly

Don't fight the tears.

submitted (after deadline!) for dVerse Poets Pub, Form For All, Than Bauk
and for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Open Link Monday

Entitlement Haiku

Presidential Math:

Diss forty-seven percent

Lose one election

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Words Count With Mama Zen, in which she asks for a brief (less than 20 word) summary of the election