Photo: David Slotto
Circus Song
If life’s a circus, love, then we’re the clowns,
tossed in this hurly-burly neon light.
Rollercoaster madness keeps us bound,
never free of new-moon darkest night.
Rip me from hurly-burly neon light.
Dance me into the sweetest sounds,
free now of new-moon darkest night.
Steal me to meadows, daisy-crowned.
Dance me beauty of life’s sweetest sounds;
leave behind this darkness and its fright.
Green meadows, gift me, daisy-crowned;
dream me a future that is bright.
Let’s leave behind the darkness and its fright,
this rollercoaster madness holds us bound.
Let’s dream another future, shining bright.
This life’s a circus, dear, and we’re the clowns.
Written and posted for Gina’s prompt for dVerse Form Challenge: Pantoum.
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
This is great writing, your words weave this form so very well!
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This Pantoum form can be so diverse! I love your circus metaphors and the madness of our addictions to the drama. If we are the clowns just fooling around, just entertaining each other it creates a message of being fooled by too much too. Great I love it!
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I like the voice and the use of “love” and “dear”….a slight sarcasm without losing the seriousness of the message. Your example of the form is inspiring.
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This circus song reads as a lullaby of light. Lovely visuals and sentiment.
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This is a beautiful pantoum. It flows like a song, and I can imagine it put to music.
It made me think of Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns,” and Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love”–and weirdly, we saw a clown leaving the lobby of my mom’s building on Thursday, and a friend went to see a dance performance to Leonard Cohen.
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A lovely poem…so true.
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I love the way you used the form to weave emotions, and I find the last stanza to be very comforting.
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Rip me, dance me, steal me, dream me…I love this!
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Send in the clowns! this evokes so many wonderful images. (K)
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Let’s dream another future, shining bright
oh, yes let us all dream of better days…
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A wonderful poem. I liked how you did the repetition, but changed the lines slightly each time.
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The circus theme goes well with the full circle repeated lines. Well done!
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beautifully crafted pantoum!
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Nice focus of the pantoum on a circus and we being the clowns.
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Bravo! Circus air to it, yet delivered with substance.
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I like the temp and play. Clowns it is today!
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Well, bring in the clowns! A remarkable pantoum!
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This is a lovely up-beat poem and I like the transformations of the repeated lines.
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This is sheer perfection, Victoria! ❤️
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Pantoum perfection indeed. You inspire and entertain with equal grace. All I can say is “Bring in the clowns”.
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Your pantoum is well-formed and beautifully executed, Victoria, and I love the circus theme. I especially enjoyed the ‘hurly-burly neon light’, the daisy-crowned meadows and the way the whole poem addresses the reader.
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A wake-up call with a message of hope is a beautiful thing. I like the words you used and how you wove the ideas with them.
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Very, very nice. I love the parenthetical inclusion of “,dear” and the clown reference within this crazy life.
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that first line is so powerful!!! i felt the twists and turns, Ma’am!
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interesting poem!
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love your title so much! you have used the repetition of chosen phrases and syllables to make this is most engaging pantoum. it flows gracefully Victoria.
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This is just lovely … I do love how you turned the questions in the beginning to an affirmation…
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A beautiful poem.
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Love the sounds of your pantoum and the slight twist to the ending line. This was a light take, a dance of beauty against the darkness and fright. Thanks for a fine example of this form Victoria.
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Life is a carnival, believe it or not. Life is a carnival twobits a shot
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Send in the clowns – don’t bother, they’re here!
This was an excellent pantoum Victoria, well written. It put me in mind of a couple songs. The Band’s “Life Is A Carnival”, and Judy Collins’ “Send In The Clowns”. I enjoyed your work here!
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You do a lovely pantoum girlfriend!
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