Collection of Poetic's: Too Heavy to Hold

To Live On In An Act

If I were to go to the circus today

I don't think that I would have very much to say

To the passersby who stare at me

As I complete an above-average routine.

They "ooh" and they "ahh" at all the right spots

But I can't go beyond that, it's just a facade.

A facade which I put on, day after day,

While waiting for poverty to take me away.

"It's glamorous, it's fabulous. It's modern and chic,"

The people all whisper, who pay to take peeks.

Each one wears a smile, they think it's great fun

But they never consider what it's like to be one.

To be a performer in a freak show, always shunned

From every direction when the show is over and done.

That's why we keeping moving from place to plain place;

If we stayed in one town, soon we'd be 'taking up space.'

They all think it's a joke or a trick or an act;

They don't know that magic is actually intact.

As people grow old, they lose their sense of wonder,

Astonishing feats are only much plunder.

Each person begs it to be fake

So that his or her reality isn't at stake.

If they were one of us and knew what really went on,

They'd run off in an instant, and soon would be gone.

After the curtain closes and the tents are packed away

We are only living to keep our hunger at bay.

Poverty is here, ever-present like a guide

Who took us the wrong way so they could coincide

And force us to be with them, always and forever

Instead of being care-free, we're forced to endeavor.

We each carry a burden, one slightly different from the next

And we each wait our turn for one final test.

If we can survive for ten years in our acts,

We will be rewarded with ten years' worth of packs.

The packs are filled with food and with toys

That bring all the members great memories and joys.

But for now, I slave away

And force a smile onto my face.

Apply the itchy hairspray

And wait for face paint to inlay.

Glitter and shine, like the sun and the stars

So much as it fits in with my repertoire.

My act and my knowledge all fit into one;

It's a package called skill and called beauty and dun.

Now the show must start

And inside, it's my heart

That tells me to go on

To live on and live long. . . .