We Have Always Lived At The Circus Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

We have always lived at the circus
I imagine myself telling my classmates
In younger years in an oral report
Or in an essay or in later years making
Up a children's book of this title.
The book will be yellow and red with the picture
Of a circus tent striped yellow and red
It will invite festive feelings from the children who see it
And want to read it and it will have friendly pictures
Of elephants with feather boas of fuschia and electric blue
Im sorry I never can spell fuschia so Im just going with this version
And tiny rhinestone tiaras and the elephants will bow and play with the
Children and never stampede or I am saying this aloud in front of 30 other children
With rapt faces
Oh its quite pippi longstocking's style I say my hair also in two red braids
You'd be surprised how often we have peanuts in the shell for dinner
And cotton candy for dessert and peanut brittle, pralines…butternut ice cream
And then go off and do our homework to the sound of organ grinders grinding
Out bel canto merrily
And the clown dolls are happy as in Raggedy Ann stories
And we go on picnics with them and all the dolls every afternoon
And eat little sandwiches like they do in England watercress and
Strawberry jam and cream cheese yes they'll do
And cheese doodles pipes up my sister in a pink and purple polka dot dress
And I confess with a raspberry lemonade TA DA! ! this is as far as I have gotten in the story
Read you more, tomorrow if you're good, morning glories
Otherwise its Christmas trimming without tinsel.
And you all know, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!
mary angela douglas 17 july 2024