Peanuts for sale
The clowns come dancing in
Circus of the absurd
Trapeze artists flying through smoked filled winds
Life under the big top
Quite a spectacle for all
Another fall into addiction
Elephant walking on a bright red ball
Tigers fiercly acting
Fooled by the lion tamer’s whip
Deeper into the illusion
Another head first dive into addiction after a slip
Baby pool of cement
No water to break the high dive fall
The crowd locked in astonishment
Man on stilts standing tall
Alone at the bottom of the ladder
The crowd’s cheers lifting your climb back to the top
Another fall to the hardness
One more tormenting belly flop
Addiction again makes a mockery
The fat lady never sings
Monkeys playing baseball
Only more laughter your continued failures bring
All has gone to darkness
The fire blows on the performer’s mighty breath
Addiction has you captivated
Leading you boldly into sure death
Horses prancing in a circle
Woman with a long flowing beard
The lions have forgotten their power
The days gone by when they were once feared
So too are you in your addiction
All have fallen for the ringmaster’s lie
Animals do it for the food
The addict does it for the high
Circle full of confusion
Trained eyes unable to see through the smoke
Addiction is a distorted mirror
A fun house full of laugh in your face jokes
The devil has you captured
Like the ringmaster pridefully on his stand
Serving him for his pleasure
Lost in the chaos of the big top marching band
Drums beating in lopsided rhythm
Big horn tuba blaring just off the note
Pretty girls dancing forward
Spinning batons high in the air as they float
Caught in the performing moment
Addiction has you playing the leading part
Man riding a unicycle on a tight rope
Dog on two legs in a dress pushing a funny cart
This is the deception
You under a bright light in the middle of the main ring
Sitting alone in a red chair
Your addicted life becoming a scene
Unable to notice around you
The crowd has vanished and the cheering has stopped
All the laughter has gone quiet
The floor from under you has just dropped
Captured again in the silence of darkness
Sitting alone with your drug and no friends
The only smoke now is in your lungs
Into the thin air you now send
Now you are your own spectacle
Addicted life overflowing with sin
The ringmaster has departed
You captured once again by his promising plan
This time he told you it would be different
For you the eye is still not quicker than the hand
Somehow you lost focus
The price for peanuts has just gone up
Broken stilts lay beside you
The tiger’s mouth has been wired shut
The big top has come down
All the performers together have left
The circus train has departed
Headed for someplace out west
Now you must take notice
The only circus left in town has tragically become you
How will you stop your addiction
How will you keep the next circus train from coming through
Peanuts for sale
Next time you better not buy
Peanuts in this circus are for the elephants
Addiction is just a big fat lie!
~ Ev. Michael Bowen