It makes a change,

a deep breath is exhaled

by many like me, the old,

the infirm, the disabled, the poor, the children,

the low paid,

the single mums, the stay at home dads,

the neglected, the dying, the sick,

the homeless, the under pressure in

this country’s green and pleasant land

as we sit in the front row, given popcorn to eat

knowing that for a brief moment,

all eyes in the circus are fixed East,

the spy V spy deflecting our out

of balanced faces and poverty porn

may pole dance, as the circus Ringmaster

pokes the bear with a sharpened stick…

doesn’t it make you proud

of our circus.

Ian D. Hall 2018