the greatest show in the world

return with me to yesterday
as we gaze up with our childlike eyes
our hearts brimming over with wonder
and our laughter soaring with the pigeons
into the rafters high above the teeming world
of cityscape and bower
a carnal scream rings out
from somewhere above the blinding lights
but beneath the canopy of a carnival tent
as earthward we flock en mass to see
barnum and bailey debut their big show
yellow suited clowns bearing counterfeit smiles
frolic on a wooden stage with barking seals
what can juggle colorful beach balls
while astride ridiculous unicycles
a show worth the price of admission
but our eyes are rudely drawn away
by a tiny tear in the canopy
where forbidden stardust steals in
and there ensues a gripping struggle
between two monumental stars
one dramatically balances on a tight rope
methodically positioning a foot
with surgical precision
one digit before the other
inching along the taut strand
to intercept the second
who has abandoned the trapeze
and now flails like a fly
with its wings lopped off
and can only be saved plummeting
to the stage below
by an over extension
of blind faith rewarded
in finding a gossamer web
suspended in open space
the two contenders rendezvu via timepieces
synchronized by the fates
and one will feast on the others failure
or success[ depending on one’s view]
and in the balance hangs our fragile innocence
destined to erode like cotton candy on the tongue
what can only be spared the spider’s callous feeding
should a roosting pigeon lean out from the railing
and put out an unsuspecting eye

and the show must go on