Bigger Tents

Hi, friends,

Thanksgiving is on the way, a time to reflect on the events of 2020. After the tumult of the recent election and its aftermath, I thought this poem on the circus might echo the dark and light of life. I remember the circus coming to Oakland near my home, and I thought the old image depicted today’s awareness and the fun of the circus. It certainly made one think of the current battles over religion and politics, and the hope that the country can have “an American president” at the helm once more. Gene B. 

Bigger Tents

Shed a tear for Barnum and Bailey

after a century and a half on the road,

delighting children and grandchildren

with flying acrobats, dancing elephants,

the smallest and biggest wonders,

heroic and abused performers, for dazzled fans

drawn into the widening tent by loud barkers

who charmed folk before TV.

The circus, like big-time religion,

entertained and confounded, drawing

the audience toward amazing extremes

of improbable soaring, clowns

jumping through fiery hoops,

defying limits of the imaginable.

These virtuosi wielded their skills

to temper despair with a promise.

Many religious tents teeter on the edge,

as older doctrines dry up, interest flags

and people seek a new oasis for the soul.

It becomes everyone’s call to pull up stakes

and follow the circus to new venues, 

a terrain with tents wide enough to welcome

all strangers not as freaks but friends,

teaching each other peace and play.