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.
No Deal
You send me checks that bear your name,
And hope that I am well,
You wish me all the best of luck…
And I wish you’d go to Hell.
You ARE the highest bidder,
But my pain is not for sale.
Just like those checks,
I BARE your name,
I bear it like the cross…
A burden that I carry to my grave.
And still, no price is high enough
To buy away my brain.
Why don’t you write the truth instead,
Upon that dotted line?
Why don’t you sign your given name:
Liar-Traitor-Swine?
And yet, I know…it’s ever true…
You’re STILL the highest bidder…
But I won’t accept your guilty offerings,
Nor slave to your regrets,
No matter what the ransom is,
You’re forever in MY debt.
