Special Feature Collaborative Poem--By Annie Jenkin and Jack Horne--England

The Circus 

By Annie Jenkin and Jack Horne
                          
Excitement is mounting for the Circus tonight!
Anticipation over, elation in full flight
Hands held tight, we look in awe as we step through the door.
A fanfare of music and atmosphere in uproar,
A brightly dressed ringmaster in top hat and tails
Enthusiastically, eloquently regales.
Clowns with big happy smiles, no frowns
Slim girls in leotards, some in gowns,
Troops climb ropes and head for the Trapeze swings
Whilst jugglers toss batons and giant rings.

This happy audience is unaware
The chap in hat and tails tore out his hair,
He’d wrung his hands and cussed at all in sight,
And shouted, “Alcohol is banned tonight.”
His tortured mind was full of last night’s show,
With tightrope walkers falling far below,
Trapeze artists who’d let their partners slip
And bounce on safety nets (one cut her lip),
The jugglers dropped the batons, balls and toys,
While grumpy clowns scared the girls and boys.

What a night! What an absolute delight.
In the Big Top! Amid an array of dazzling sights,
It was as if we had been sprinkled with some stardust,
Tears of laughter from clowns, White Face and Auguste.
It was all there, bubbles, cycles and custard pies
Musical flutes, magic tricks and spinning bow ties.
Up high, flyers with heart stopping routines
Of twists and turns, the youngest in their teens!
Forward and backward somersaults by lithe acrobats,
Synchronized like ribbons of dancing nimble cats.

When hearing the whooping, hollering and applause.
The ring master smiled broadly but mentally pressed pause.
Upon reflection, and through careful observation,
He proudly thought – staff deserved this admiration.
Hours of rigorous rehearsal, timing clinical
Provided the platform for such a spectacle
So tonight as he lies down to slumber
He prays the nightmares are fewer in number
Indeed he dreams about the circus ring
He enjoyed as a small boy on a horse performing!