THE SHOW

There were 5 balls hanging in the air when we came into the room
And a smile upon the juggler’s face like a painting in a tomb
He had a brash commanding voice and he greeted us out loud
And the people at the tables laughed at his control of crowd and craft
Like the new king at his brother’s casket arrogant & proud
He caught the balls & bowed

The MC stumbled to the stage and blew into the mike
He had a joke he tried to tell but he couldn’t get it right
We found ourselves a table and the waitress brought us drinks
She was one of the gentle folk you could hear that in the way she spoke
Her troubles hiding in her throat like bad luck in a jinx
She said I guess you swim or sink

But the show goes on
The show goes on
The drinks are strong the evening’s long
And the show goes on

There was milk in the looking glass the magician held up high
He said I’ll tell you everything I do I don’t want to mystify
But no matter how we looked at him his actions slipped away
And even for the volunteer the visions seemed to disappear
Just when he had it focused clear the bottle dropped away
Where he couldn’t say

Now the magician wanted us to know that air’s more thick than thin
The thing that’s crucial here he said is simple discipline
He held his arm out from his side and rolled his shirt sleeve back
And while we watched his open hand he gave a nonchalant command
In words we couldn’t understand then there was a kind of crack
And the milk had turned to black

The show goes on
The show goes on
Let the eyes beware what the fingers dare
The show goes on

We had another round of drinks and laughed with Danny D.
He talked about his early life and his insufficiencies
He spoke out of that secret place where head and heart combine
In words that kept the world at bay then doubled back in ricochet
Bringing all the pain he’d kept away or thought he’d left behind
He caught us weak & blind

The MC took the stage again with the juggler at his heel
And while he killed another joke the juggler juggled steel
The blades were flying in the air 3 then 4 then 5
And when the MC coughed and bowed the juggler moved toward the crowd
We heard each other breathe out loud He said I hope you all survive
This trick I’m going to try

And now we see our waitress and our drinks with the magician at the bar
And Danny D. stands in the wings holding a cigar
Someone says the band is on the way but still in another state
And the juggler takes our breath again He sends the blades above our heads
To the magician his belief suspended cannot hesitate
The blades fly fast & straight

The show goes on
The show goes on
The quickest hands shall rule the land
The show goes on

Hours floating by our eyes like visions on a screen
Electronic memories of someone else’s dreams
And now the band is tuning up and the singer picks a song
And the guitar sings out all alone in a poetry of skin and bone
From every place the winds have blown For every hope the world has known
And the singer takes the microphone he says
Let the past be gone And let the show go on

Let the show go on
Let the show go on
Beyond the night into the light
Let the show go on


© Karl Williams