Circus Clowns

how easily
we forget the
elephants that
stood on our chests

actually
their feet hovered
but sometimes the
trainer let them

let down some of
their great weight and
our ribs creaked like
old wooden stairs

and our eyes would
roll back to find
her flying far
above us her

hand-held haloes
chirping and our
hearts pounding with
pent-up longing

muffled beneath
those enormous
feet so she heard
only the crowd