FARRAH ASHLINE
THE RINGMASTER
Step right on up, to the greatest show on earth!
The grotesques are all here to show you their worth
Your Ringmaster is here, my collar fits the bill
To tell you all a story that will satisfy your fill
The audience craves its trickery, the eye to be blinded by hoax
You’ll have to decide at the end of this who told the greatest joke
Some madwomen, show clowns, even a wild cat in there
Every person wanted a role in this show, competition everywhere
They came out in large numbers from places no one had ever heard
Each of them scrambled ferociously to have the very last word
Who was I to determine which one of them would make the final round
Their talents and trickery unleashed left an impression that is sound
We all believe in the motto: One for All and All for One
I tried to remind the ensemble cast that this was suppose to be fun
To which they replied, “Where is the drama in all of that?”
They are the entertainers and I am merely their host
I was never good at distorting reality which is how I like it most
I let them play out their performance as this is what they enjoy best
They live for the applause and attention, nothing more and nothing less.
THE WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN
With the face of a schoolboy and the wit of a quipster
Matched with equal part stamina, poetry and trickster
I was assigned the task of holding up barrels with my fingers
So I became very strong at making the ladies hearts linger
I would impress them every night with the stories I could tell
About how I made the weaker men cringe fear, beg, or yell
By simply making the illusion that I could pick up anything
With the smallest bone in my toes and the promise of a ring
I’d show them how I could joust a car, clown or cheer
I would do whatever it would take to make a lady come near
She’d be proud to show the crowd that I was her lad and then chime:
“Just look at how I landed The Strongest Man you can find!”
To which I’d hoist her up high on my left shoulder with her thigh
And expose to her in private the desire in my eyes
I could always mark their weakness, their hubris was the same
And eventually I’d get bored in trying to remember their names
They would follow me after the show always looking for another round
I was never good at picking up relationships or staying bound
This is why I love the circus, these misfits of misery keep
A place where I can hide my secrets and never wake from beauty sleep