Too Long at the Fair
A Cautionary Tale
with a Happy Ending
You put me on your midway
you dressed me in a sack,
you gave me beads you’d won at bottle toss
then promptly took them back.
The cotton candy kisses
didn’t last outside the tent
but the marks you brought to see me,
they never seemed to end.
You made me tell their fortunes
all miserably the same,
charged a dollar for admission
and a quarter for each claim.
They chewed their grease like cattle
as they pointed at my face
where your words scrawled as graffiti
had taken reason’s place.
I left your crooked shell game
where you always hid the bean
and ran off with the carny hick
from the Tilt-a-Whirl machine.
Now we’ve seven strapping farmboys
in our fields under the skies
and each night I get a corn dog
that would win the Fair’s First Prize.
May 2012
Posted for Poetics at dVerse Poets Pub
Claudia is hosting a fairgrounds rollar coaster ride over at the pub today. Come join us--the gates stay open at 3:00 PM EST through midnight Sunday.
Optional Musical Accompaniment
haha you found your fair...and what a sorrid a-fair it is...haha...run off with the tilt a whirl guy...and you get the corn dog every night, how could a girl resist you know...smiles...this was a delight...some wonderful touches, gaffiti on the face...chewing their grease, eww....smiles...fun...
ReplyDeleteWell, the Fair is supposed to be fun, and not that elite, artsy-fartsy kinda fun, either. ;_)
DeleteHaha! I may have snorted my hot beverage on the corn dog line.
ReplyDeleteso good hedge...i just love your sense of humour... glad you made the escape...just have to find out what a Tilt-a-Whirl machine is...
ReplyDeleteI adore this, love the mood, the rhyme, the humour.... and Bonnie Raitt as well - does it get any better?
ReplyDeleteI loved the rhythm, rhyme and its flow. And also the way how the poem grow..,
ReplyDeleteamazing write :)
I was not expecting silly, I must say. Love the ending too.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it just escapes my iron control--the silly, that is.
DeleteDespite some of the sad images in this, it was a fun read. Loved the rhythm and rhyme. And I really like this line: "They chewed their grease like cattle." Oh, yeah.
ReplyDeleteGreat last line, too!
Hedge, this is outstanding. From rhyme scheme to wit, such a fun piece. Thanks
ReplyDeleteKILLER! OMG, I roared and am still rolling in laughter...thank you, thank you, thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part is the little subtitle. Happy ending indeed! *smirk*
ReplyDeleteAh cool... nice...that's just the way to escape to a happy ever after!
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are the first stanza and the last two.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, this is excellent:
"where your words scrawled as graffiti
had taken reason’s place"
Thank goodness you got away from that guy. But I'm not sure the happy ending sounds that happy to me. Corn dogs are too greasy. ;) And besides, with 7 kids, when do you have time to eat corn dogs?! LOL.
The "fields under the skies" part is pretty.
Shawna, you have either a saintly pure mind, or a rare gift of sarcasm going on. Thanks much. This was strictly for laughs, though of course, I always have to throw a little personal angst in. ;_)
Deletenice smooth rhyme. i like the cotton candy kiss the best
ReplyDeletedelightfully humorous.
ReplyDeleteVery funny and much enjoyed (even though I'm vegetarian, ha!) k.
ReplyDeleteSuperb. Would make a great song!
ReplyDeleteHa..ha... Love it Hedge ~
ReplyDeleteHillarious! What a slam-dunk last line! Love it!
ReplyDeleteha ha ha...actually I said, "buhahahaha"...love this!
ReplyDeletei got a big smile outta this, nicely done ;-)
ReplyDeletethis one was esp striking i thought,
"They chewed their grease like cattle
as they pointed at my face
where your words scrawled as graffiti
had taken reason’s place."
but doesn't beat the ending ;-)
I love that you win the countryside jackpot withe the carny hick--nicely spun.
ReplyDeleteSuch fun. I like "you made me tell their fortunes/all miserably the same" Like the rhyme too.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh out loud! Just perfect!
ReplyDeleteI like the oxymoron roller coaster character of this poem very much: you seem to change my mood with every line. I laughed out loud at the final stanza!
ReplyDelete