Carnival of Hatred

“Come one, come all!”
The hawker summons
Try your luck
On the unmoored Ferris wheel

Hurl a dart
At the Kewpie dolls
Win one for the lady
To consummate the deal

(Chorus)
Intruders in the festival
Outsiders at the gates
Nothing like a carnival
To bring up dormant hates

Where the pavement meets the grass
Behind the stand of funnel cakes,
Someone's getting hornery
Their pants down at their feet

This balloon-tank life
Is more than I can take
This Friday night special
Affords me no relief

(chorus)

Prizes, prizes, and more prizes
Mustachioed lady dons disguises
The smell of ether and saw dust
A dead roller coaster under rust

They say life is a funhouse
That explains why everyone is so ugly
A grotesque face in a curvy mirror –
A cotton-candy bed for an endless nightmare –

It’s carnival time, again.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025

Poem

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