Smoke and Mirrors

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen

to the greatest show on earth

the circus ringmaster booms

wishing he were home in bed

and the people would scram

with their cotton candy faces

having blown their dollars

ferris wheels that never stop

truths colored with magic marker

clown faces painted on pale mugs

fixated on garish roller coasters

going backward in their lives

games of chance never won

collapsible swords down throats

training elephants with cattle prods

bored dogs jumping through hoops

lifeless lions snapped by whips

parents pretending joy they don’t feel

cranky children whining for balloons

running up and down flimsy bleachers

dollars snaked from unaware people

a game of smoke and mirrors as

hypocrisy of the circus drones on.