Thank You Daddy For Taking Jane and Me To the Circus

Thank you Daddy for taking Jane and me to the circus He took the bumps fast along Broadway; we giggled and laughed; it was a great day. The bustle, the hustle, the poor old men. I said “Dear Daddy can’t we help them?” They’re just like those guys on Castle Hill in number too great drinking their swill. Castle Hill was off limits when I was kid; one block over they we all on the skids. We entered the circus; saw my favorite clown, Emmet Kelly, was always so down. I knew in my heart his non-comic frown and wondered if he had lain once on the ground. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t all that precocious, I loved the lions, oh so ferocious. My first cotton candy, popping cracker jacks, my eyes grew big at the high wire acts. There were men on cycles, ladies on horses, strong giants with super-human forces. I guess I forgot about Emmett and bums, on the way home to sweet sleep I succumbed. Kathryn Collins February 2, 2014