Circus

Went to a circus
With great hope
The show began
And everyone cheered
In came the acrobats
The jugglers and clowns
They put their act together
Their bodies moved in tandem
As they climbed the tallest ropes
And rode the fastest bikes
The animals did their bit too
The crowd loved the show
Claps rung the air
Everyone was smiling
Except the acrobats, the jugglers and the clowns
Their smiles have long been stolen

Stolen by whom
I could not clearly say
Perhaps by fate
Who made them performers
Or perhaps by us
Who demanded repeat performances
Whatever it be –
Their faces spoke tales of gloom
As if their life was walking towards doom
Their performances seemed forced and compelled too
Is circus worth a visit then?
Aren’t we somewhere robbing off their smiles?
By forcing them to perform
Aren’t we somewhere smiling and cheering at their plight?
Then a small voice said –
Yes, you may be robbing off their smiles
But visit you must
Or else who knows
They may simply cease to exist.