(Orignally 5th September 2006 at 3:34pm)
Amidst the fanfare and confetti, the laughing children and bustling crowds, people and animals alike mingle in the displays, shows and fun.
The lions roar to the whip of the tamer, the elephants trumpet to the constant supply of peanuts. Monkeys playfully stealing bananas while stray dogs go around begging for scraps. Musclemen lifting incredulous weights, fortune tellers weave your future while clowns do their funny antics, making the crowd burst in joyful laughter.
In the air of gaiety at this circus, amongst every smiling face, every boisterous laugh, there is one clown doing his act. Everyone makes merry, gesturing and pointing at him and his hilarious plays, and he smiles back for every foolish stunt he pulls.
At the end of the day, the circus closes. The crowd clears, the animals are either feeding or sleeping. The lions are not roaring anymore, neither the elephants trumpeting. The monkeys’ chatter dies down to quiet preening, while the dogs are just lazing, slowly dozing off to the calls of the night. That lone clown, picks the broom and sweeps the mess of the day away.
Half-eaten cotton candies, strewn pop corn and empty wrappers litter the place. Drumstick bones, half eaten and wasted. Drink cans and half-filled bottles roll around in the gentle breeze of the cold night air.
And as the clown sweeps them all up, he readies himself mentally for the next day, when again he will see the same sights, hear the same sounds and clear the same shit. And as he eases the cramps in his jaws and cheeks for another day of foolish antics, he forces his thoughts out of his head. Thoughts that no one would believe that a clown should ever think of. Thoughts so ugly, that even the circus freakshow pales in comparison. And try as he might, it doesn’t always go away.
And while the clown clears the rubbish, a tear falls down.
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