The Final Act Poem by Kelly Boston

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls,
step right up—
Step right up, come closer!
You won't believe your eyes,
come and witness something you've never seen before—
Or maybe you have for some of you
the greatest freak show of this dying world! !
Come see the clowns in pressed suits juggle our futures
With greasy grins and empty eyes,
Selling lies like peanuts,
Feeding the mindless crowds, as they deliberately set everything ablaze.
See how they laugh with glee as the ice caps melt away,
At the broken, abandoned streets, at the smog-filled skies.
"Everything's fine, " they coo— And shrug without a care
Painted faces with hollow shells wear souls once were (maybe) ,
All scripture and slogans and sinister smiles.
Their God, money,
Their church, power,
Their prayers burn holes in the ground.
Look to your neighbor, are they friend or foe?
Do they clap and cheer for their own demise?
Wearing loyalty like a uniform,
Eyes glossed over in devotion
They believe siding with the ringmaster
Will spare them from the lions.
But they forget—
The lions are starving too.
See the mirrors of the funhouse twist the truth.
See the strings holding up the puppets.
See the collars and chains pull tighter around our necks
While the performers dance in circles
And call it a policy and law.
We have watched this act play out for too long...
Watched hope get sawed in half,
Watched justice disappear in the magician's cloak,
Watched the poor clean the elephant pen
While the rich ride on their backs.
It's time for the circus to be done!
No more smiles. No more seats.
No more applause while they drag us into cages.
Let the tent fall. Let the paint peel.
Let the fire burn it all to the ground.
We are no longer the watches Or bystanders
We are the fuse to the dynamite that will bring
The circus to the ground!