State of Disunion

We’re addicted to the sideshow –
the lady sporting whiskers,
donkey with two heads,
cotton candy frosting hair
on carny’s tattooed arm.

We’re hooked on big striped big top,
the popcorn and the stink,
riding crop and oil slick
of barker’s red-tailed spiel.

We love to peek at freaky things
behind the velvet drape,
to hold our breath in choked suspense
as net-less bodies fly.

We want to hear the lions growl,
see cars spit out more clowns,
exhale ah’s of hot dog damp
when wrists are caught
… or not.

We crave our penny’s worth of pound,
our barrel full of Coke,
the cannonballs, calliope,
iced tang of something sour. 

Paula Rudnick is a former television writer and producer who has spent the past 30 years as a volunteer for nonprofit organizations. In the past several years, she has begun to write poetry — another nonprofit endeavor.