"After The Circus"

After The Circus

You were fired the
night you jumped between
the camels and the
trainer with the whip.
Balloons dropped
like candy from a
piñata to distract
the audience. I saw him
push you to the
ground. Yes, they
can do that to you.
We ran from the tent,
dirty and crying.
Freaky violence,
imposed politics,
these are the things
we talk about now
on this train.
We see valleys
and mountains that
take our breath, then
we are quickly
plunged into a
tunnel. This happens
every time a beautiful
view comes to us.
It is taken away
and we are being
born again
and again,
pushed through yet
another birth canal.
View.
Black.
View.
Black.
Born again.
What can we do
without knowing where
the train is going?

©JEF 1996