Circus Days – poem on Sunday Miscellany 2/10/16

This poem, Circus Days, was broadcast on Sunday Miscellany with thanks to Aoife Nic Cormaic.
It was a lovely show with New short essays by: Denise Blake, Maurice Cashell, Elaine Garvey,
Michael O’Loughlin, John MacKenna, Mary O’Malley, Áine Ryan
Poem:
Circus Days
You don’t have to run away to join,
it comes to you around their thirteenth year.
You hadn’t even noticed they were in-training
until you sense excitement,
strong as fumes, building up in your home.
Music gets louder, nights and mornings confused,
every room is taken over as the friends, arriving
in single file, increases to friends of friends
to claim every available seat, even yours.

The circus builds around one son, then the next
and the next until soon, three rings are running
full flow. You try to become the ringmaster,
the one in control, while you collect tickets at the door,
take further bookings, supervise training, do the laundry,
provide meals for the performers, refreshments
for the audience, try to watch all that is happening.

And just as you notice that one son is putting his head
into the lion’s mouth, the other is walking a tightrope
without a net, you look over to the furthest ring
at the clown juggling madly. He makes the slightest
gesture, out of sync with his act, and your heart stops.

His show has become the riskiest. He is juggling
frantically, the big smile really is painted on,
his hands are shaking and he is about to drop
everything, as those who you thought were his friends
are not laughing but jeering. You clear the ring,
silence the noise, take him into your arms and hope
that he will begin to talk, tell you what is wrong.

And then, you watch when he starts to go back to his ring,
lifts a club, two clubs, four, until he is juggling well again.
While in the distance, his brothers are starting to pack up.
The show goes on until the troops move to another city.
Your house has become calm, you miss the circus days.

D Blake
https://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=b9%5F10627735%5F68%5F02%2D10%2D2016%5F
https://www.rte.ie/radio1/sunday-miscellany/programmes/2016/1002/820416-sunday-miscellany-sunday-2-october-2016/?