Circus Robinson

You probably can’t see Robinson,
obscured as he is by bowling pin jugglers.
The peanut-munching crowd goes nuts,

children cheer & clap to monkey business.
The captive elephants stand on their hind legs
to the delight of the slave owner,

who’s making all the money he needs,
but wires Africa, send more, send more!
Robinson tries to shake off the sadness

of his own gray bulk in the harrowing tent
as the crowd bares it teeth at him.
It would be easier to battle lions,

he motions to the other elephants, & they agree.
After the show, tied to their stakes,
the huge tears float away, defy gravity.

Robinson wipes his cheeks,
he would knock down a tree in anger,
instead, he holds his wife’s hand with his trunk.