funeral for the circus

Tonight was the funeral for the circus,

But Jane was not allowed to attend so

She cried her blue tears in the bathroom sink.

She missed the elephants led to slaughter,

The clowns with make-up streaked with carnage, in

A howling mass of fake hypocrisy.

The ring-leader shouts, ‘The show must go on!’

From his padded room in the asylum,

His lips pull back in grins for no one, who

Watches him rave in the cold steel window.

Meanwhile a crowd gathers outside to watch

The big-top tent alive in flames, and nine

Dancing monkeys with organ grinders, as

Smoke stings Jane’s blue eyes in the bathroom sink.