in the depths of heaven
the ocean roars
shed a tear, shed a tear
for the circus is no more
*
the sun sets over the highway
the last track drives away
the clowns watch the trucks disappear and head off to begin their new lives
as panhandlers and fitness gurus and hedge fund managers
all except one, chunky, the oldest of them all
who is determined to find the last pie baked by the last widow on the last windowsill
and hit donald trump or vladimir putin in the face with it
the big tent has been cut up to make napkins at burger king
the bareback dancers pack their bags and they too hit the road
back to philadelphia and cleveland to get jobs as life managers and creative consultants
the ringmaster and the magician make plans to start a maoist alternative to breitbart
the magician’s apprentice goes back to a trailer park outside elko nevada to take care of her 12 younger siblings
moe, the cook, lies down by the side of the road and cries
manny and mac and mose, the roustabouts, enroll in management courses at the university of phoenix
the elephants go back to africa
the lions go back to mars
the horses run away over the playgrounds filled with needles
the lion trainer and al the acrobat hatch a scheme so complicated it can not be described here.
suffice to say they will not settle for a few lousy billions
ed the elephant keeper buys two bottles of wine and a chicken salad grinder, toasted, with cheese, and starts hitchhiking to the northwest territories
alice the acrobat stuffs the trapeze into her bag, with plans to call it a work of art and get at least 15 million dollars for it
they all make plans to meet again for a reunion at the arby’s roast beef outside las cruces new mexico in 2047
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