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Leftover Straw from the Circus
Richard Eric Johnson

I didn’t grasp
the appluase
reason I was really young

trapeze high wire
acrobats three rings
lions elephants clowns

I didn’t grasp
liturgies and eulogies
Jesus’ sermons

Nam
hot wars
cold wars

failed to grasp politics
lack of common sense
endless parade of clowns

I think I grasp
now
value of a free ticket

—
Richard Eric Johnson lives and writes poetry in Arlington, Virginia. He has authored five full-length poetry collections and his poetry has appeared in numerous online and print journals. Eric is also a Pushcart nominee. He most recently was honored to be archived at La Salle University’s Connelly Library. He is a graduate of Indiana University with a B.A. in Germanic Languages and an M.S. in Education. After a tour in Viet Nam and West Berlin, he embarked on a career as a public servant and is now very happily retired.

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Have you read these poems:
Fugue by Susan Blackaby
All day long the world is going by Graham Murtaugh

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