The Circus in Paris

They go to the circus in Paris
And watch the trapeze artists
Walk over broken faith
Trying not to fall into it
And ask questions
And determine
How strong their nets are
When there are nets
But you can't see them
Until you fall

They go to the freak show
Where they see true believers
And hear lovers speak sincerely
Blow kisses to the beautiful woman
With only a smile to show for it
And the invisible man
Who loves the beautiful woman
And the children
Who never changed

They hear the clowns
Tell backward jokes
Tell doorbell jokes
Tell suicide jokes
Tell mime jokes
Tell silent jokes
Tell jokes about jokes
Then drive away in their tiny car

They ride the lions
Because the tamers got fired
And they find that the lions
Are tamer without tamers
They like showing their teeth
And eating baguettes
And falling asleep...slowly

They buy cotton candy
And they buy copies of 'The Stranger'
And candied apples
And a fedora
And photos of themselves
Taken when they weren't looking

They look for the ringmaster
But he's disappeared
Went back to London
When three rings
Became too much to manage

The trained dogs refused to wear the hats
The elephants refused to balance the ball
The horses wouldn't wear the jewels
The tigers weren't as tame as the lions

And when the circus left Paris
They forgot to take the tent
So it stood there underneath the Eiffel Tower

Now people look at it
And wonder

If it's ever going to light up again