Saturday 26 May 2012

At the fair




it was the thrills and screams 
that lured her to join the fair grounds
of high wire acts, defying gravity    


the applause thundering after hushed breaths,
swinging the line with nerves of steel   
was her opium rush, filled with crushed ice    


but today, her chest is a desert  
moat of sand clings to trembling fingers
from nearly squishing the squirrel that unexpectedly ran 
towards her car on the road for a massage appointment  


she almost got a whiplash and saw firecrackers lighting up 
the summer sky,  falling from the balance beam spitting 
grey from all the stress, but she remembered to  


keep head back, arms loose, belt tight, as the wheel
unexpectedly plummetted to ground in lightning flash


the image of blind boy, playing the violin, thoughts visible as 
sun gazing so intensely, passes through her like an electric shock,        


the plastic car seats rock and spin in dizzy bumpy ride,  
numbed cold, she tries to stand upright again,   


her lover left last night,  
stealing all love poems she labored, 
her father's heart is feebly weak, 
from eating all the smoked pork ribs


but she slaps on the clown's paint, flashes a smile
the show is starting, the paying crowd is clapping  


you don't need a fortune teller
to tell you that time is a river,


and 
life is not (a) fair. 


Posted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads:  Snap Baby 
and D'verse Poets Pub:  Poetics:   Fun fair 


picture credit:   here

43 comments:

  1. ha...life is not (a) fair.. that's great... and true...can slap you right in the face sometimes and you have to get out on the stage, smiling...some tight images in this grace..

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    1. Thanks Claudia ~ It has been a stressful week for me ~

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  2. aww that was a bit of a sting at the end...no the fair is one of those places where magic can happen and that does not always last...took all the love poems dang it...smiles...nice bit of story telling grace...time is a river, ever flowing you know...smiles.

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    1. I like that ever flowing river ~ Thanks for the visit Brian ~

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  3. I love this, you've woven a very interesting story into the theme and it works for me. Very well done.

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    1. Thank you David ~ The one about the squirrel just happened this morning ~

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  4. Loved this....fantastic work!!! And I agree too with you....that Time is not a river and Life is not a fair...

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    1. I meant that time is a river, but maybe your interpretation is different ~ Thanks ~

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  5. Thought this was stunning until I got to the last few lines.... And then I thought it was exquisite!

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  6. Awww... it never rains but it pours in her case. All so sad, and yet, the show must go on!
    I had a squirrel run under my car before, could have sworn it would be a gonner but, somehow I swerved at the right time so the wheels missed it and saw it scamper off behind me. Guess it was its lucky day too :)

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  7. Great weave in of many aspects, life is not fair and thus we have to deal and keep on moving along with it. Slap that clown paint on and jump in with both feet.

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  8. The whiplash and the firecrackers dovetail nicely into funfair ideas of temporary excitement and flashes....

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  9. Great word play Heaven. I can feel your stress.

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  10. Excellent job here. I love the initial characterization, very nicely done. The ending resounds with me right now as well. Excellent write. Thanks

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  11. Yes, slapping on that clown paint makes it seem, at least, that everything is all right. A powerful read.

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  12. This is amazing, Grace... especially the ending.

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  13. Damn life is not fair...what a great way of stating it

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  14. life is not (a) fair.. ' No .. most definitely not .. you just never know which way that coin is going to spin - but as she says 'the show must go on' - Really great piece - hugs Lib

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  15. Beautiful write of sadness...

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  16. I think this is part of why clowns are kind of scary. All that greasepaint and exaggerated smiles hides who knows what. You've drawn a very graphic picture of what might hide behind the make-up of one clown. Well done.

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  17. I like the way you blended the stream of consciousness exercise along with the stress factor into this surreal fair experience. Nicely done, Heaven.

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  18. I've found that lots of us hide behind masks, whether they are made of clown make-up or not. A wonderful write!

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  19. Such a wonderful parallel between the world we are so comfortable criticizing (the life of a carny) and the life we so carefully lead (behind our painted faces). Brilliant!

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  20. I really like these lines, Grace:

    "her chest is a desert
    moat of sand clings to trembling fingers"

    "her lover left last night,
    stealing all love poems she labored,
    her father's heart is feebly weak"

    "you don't need a fortune teller
    to tell you that time is a river"

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  21. oo what an ending, riveting! stealing all the love poems she labored...priceless and life is not(a)fair...wonderful. applause((!))
    gardenlilie

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  22. You told a whole story between the brevity of your lines and cut-throat imagery. Very good indeed.

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  23. No, you don't need a fortune teller to tell you... guess you need a clown. Superb final lines to an enthralling story line. Great write.

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  24. Wow!

    "you don't need a fortune teller
    to tell you that time is a river"

    Most beautiful lines I have come across in recent times. Wonderful.

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  25. Thanks for being part of FBF.

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  26. You slap on the smile, check the tone of your laugh and the show goes on

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  27. Powerful write, and a great finish!

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  28. temptingsweets9927 May 2012 at 10:57

    especially love the last line. :)

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  29. I like this poem; I mean, each stanza could create its own story. Tis brilliant and I tip my hat you, really, I enjoyed how structured this was. Life is indeed a circus, I suppose we should feed the elephants and tigers, right?

    Anyway, this is my new favourite and I'll tell you that you have a new follower.

    Good day.

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  30. Wonderful. This is one of my favorites of yours. The ending stanzas were especially vivid for me, but the whole story is terrific. k.

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  31. This is so beautifully written! I love the part about the blind boy playing the violin. I've heard many stories about blind people almost being able to "see" the music. You captured this perfectly!

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  32. And in the end we put on our smiling faces and the show goes on...thanks for sharing the 'behind the scenes' in this poem. Very nicely done.

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  33. so heart felt,

    "her lover left last night,
    stealing all love poems she labored" -

    and (a) fair or not, i sensed a strength of continuing that was very reassuring...

    best wishes heaven ;-)

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  34. Excellent ending--I liked the way you spun out from the theme and brought us back around there. Nice read!

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  35. I really enjoyed the incongruities and double meanings here, particularly in the last line.

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  36. Yes, it is like this, so much of the time. Love the slapping on of the smile, the carrying on.........and the closing lines are fantastic. "You dont need a fortune teller to tell you time is a river and life is not (a) fair." The little squirrel got to me, too.

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  37. wow. very profound.
    this is a great write!
    thanks for sharing you with us.

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Thanks for your visit and comments ~ I appreciate them ~