Poem for the Day - Claremont Showgrounds

Claremont Showgrounds

When you enter this microcosm
 country life meeting city 
you're not thinking of Sideshow Alley.
Your ear instructs you to the polo,
wood-chopping, craft and produce show.

You're not thinking of bunny hops, eagle
drops on the Roller Coaster, your name called last
for the Camel Ride, or the one-off number
you couldn't collect for Big Bear or Panda.

All winter your children saved for the whirligig
of whoops and jolts, the Bumper Cars, Animal Farm.
And later, not wanting the consequence of home,
the tattle of how much money they spent, they ate
all the lollies, cramming each showbag into one.

Aloft and linking arms with your children,
bodies close in sync, you rocked and tilted a view
above the fairgrounds: your small family made up
of, one boy, one girl, minus the boss at home.

Time to reflect then on the good grace
of the author above who tossed down one, pure,
cloudless day under September sun.

The Chair Lift: a slow bird over Claremont
The Fishing Game: cardboard you couldn’t eat
Sideshow Alley: a crushed amble of heads and hats
Carnival Tents: a series of fringes and fur
Fairy Floss: gone in seconds
The Exit Turnstile: one last ride for home.