Alan L. Winters
CIRCUS
Hunt Brothers Circus of New Jersey: circa 1960Hot day, hotter tent;
Smell of sawdust,
Taste of cotton candy
The lady on the trapeze
Almost fell into the net
As the trained dogs danced around the ring.
The lion snarled and the trainer cracked his whip.
The clown hid behind a painted smile
And made the children laugh.
(I wonder if he laughed himself.)
The show has ended now
And tents come down and trucks are packed,
And the circus drives away.
So long we wait for them to come,
So short, it seems, they stay.
©Copyright circa early 1990s by Alan L. Winters
Author’s Note: I’m not sure why, but the other day I was thinking about the local circus that used to come to town every year. It was a three ring circus complete with a small midway and would take over one end of the park for a few days. I don’t remember when it finally stopped coming but I think it was in the mid 60s. It was the Hunt Brother’s. The poem was written in the early 90s.