Elephants' trumpets shake the grandstands and grounds.
"Souveniers, get your souveniers here!"
Whinnying horses as monkeys screech
Caliope music sings childhood dreams.
Welcome to the big top!
Red, orange, yellow triangles
decorate pedistal pagodas
that wait in a sacred ring of curbing and curiosity.
A spider's web or rigging awaits wire walkers and trapeze troupes
And armies of families find their seats.
Welcome to the big top!
The earthy aroma of sawdust and manure
mix with the inviting smell of fresh popped corn and fragrant hot dogs
Suddenly overpowered by the wafting, acrid smoke of torches being tossed, caught and swung.
The show has begun.
Welcome to the big top.
The terror of trained tigers mere yards away;
The joyous excitement of enormous elephants marching ,making an unusual army;
The chaos of comedic clowns;
The heartwarming hyjinx of dancing dogs;
Welcome to the big top.
Torches now extinguished;
Tigers back in cages;
Rigging now dismantled;
The ageless audience of all ages heads home to picket fences and stuffed peppers.
While wire walkers, trapeze fliers,
jugglers, gentlemen and ferocious tigers,
truckloads of elephants and uncostumed clowns
Prepare to bring the big top to yet another town.