Mourning the Return of Carnival Season At O'Malley's Bar (J. Armstead)

Billiard balls slap and clack
as they're struck, rolling
across jade green felt
and the television's sportscaster
complains that the season is still
up in the air

(music from the calliope jangles
like old magic in the air)

Dogs run and bark while children
caper, yelling, laughing and jumping,
electrified by mystery
and the scent of sin,
Mother Goose holds court
in her leather bustier
while all the Moms and Dads gamble
they'll win new lives in the end

(the nostalgic scent of roasted nuts
and cotton candy sparks regrets)

Old men wipe away their tears
while barflies drink to happier years,
And the pastor and his flock
despair that this lifetime
has passed, waving them a fond goodbye --
Take a peek under the tent,
see what's hiding in the Big Top,
the organ grinder's monkey
is a dope fiend,
the clowns have attack dogs,
and the mailman is wearing
kevlar and chainmail

(the wind whips the edges of the tent's flaps
and the shadows spill out for all to see)

They argue about stats and game scores,
voices dancing over the click and thwack
of hustlers playing pool,
and that old bear of a man holds his head
bemoaning his fate twenty years too late,
and someone opens the door to the bar
and everyone yells at them to close it quick
because they'll let all the light out,
but no one walks in,
nothing from outside comes in,
and the dogs are still barking
while the clowns are cursing
the roving bands of metal children.

(The lights adorning the ferris wheel
sparkle like jewels on a harlot's necklace)

Lions and tigers roar,
and jungle princesses
in harem skirts sell fortunes
to anyone fearing the quiet
solemnity of winter,
while the old men at the bar
dream of the touch of young flesh.
Take a peek under the tent,
see what's hiding in the Big Top...
***************************************************

Image courtesy of Dreamstime Photographic Stock: "Carnival Reflections" by Neonriver, dreamstime_4194227.jpg

Comments

[Don Iannone]

Really enjoyed this one! Thank you.

[aurora]

This is like a novel packed into a poem! I appreciate the details in the images and the underlying images.