By Maik Strosahl
At Circus World in Baraboo,
we played the freaks, we were the baboons,
the ferocious feline
stalking the bars of a cart,
back and forth, while mom laughed,
snapping pictures
of her captured monsters.
At Niabi and
even Lincoln Park in Chicago,
we wandered between enclosures,
amazed by beasts on display,
making faces at the animals until
smacked on the back of the head,
herded on to the next display.
I was still riding in grocery carts
when I asked my mom
why that man by the carrots
did not take a bath.
I remember her turning red,
embarrassed as he looked up
and we quietly moved away
while she explained
we come in many shades
and that was all it took for me.
Yet I can claim no innocence
to other differences:
pointing at the woman with no legs,
laughing at the man in his dress,
whispering about those girls
dolled up and standing on street corners.
I read somewhere
that once a zoo in the Bronx
put a man on display—
a distant savage out of place
for visitors to watch
as he paced his enclosure,
watching us
watch him,
making faces as we
twisted ours,
holding back a snarl
as we roared
and I stopped to think,
remembering the circus,
the zoos,
gawking at those on display
as if they were ours to judge.
Were they so strange
in those distant days,
in those recent yesters,
when we would stare
and they would shrink in fear?
Though they were our captives,
the thought occurs now that
we were the savages.
_______________
[Editor’s Note: Wikipedia article on Circus World Museum, the Circus World Baraboo website, the Niabi Zoo website, and the Lincoln Zoo website.]
| Copyright © 2021 by Maik Strosahl Michael E. Strosahl has focused on poetry for over twenty years, during which time he served a term as President of the Poetry Society of Indiana. He relocated to Jefferson City, Missouri, in 2018 and currently co-hosts a writers group there. |  |
Maik, I much enjoyed my reader’s opening quest to determine who the “I” of Part V is. Parts 1-IV set this up beautifully. And then, of course, the final line twists the “I” back to being a “savage” too!
ReplyDeleteAs overall coordinator, did you design this, or did it come more out of the collaboration? Oh, I think I’ve just discovered another question for tomorrow’s interview!
I regret that none of your relatives who visited that circus with you early in your life were able in time to provide a photo of the visit that we might have used instead of the stock photo you found. If and when you do receive a photo or two, send them to me, and I’ll post them in a comment with links to view them. Thanks!
Thank you sir! I don’t want to spill too much and ruin the interview, but this poem is the one that was done first, then the individual stories of the “savages” giving the back story. I have to say, my collaborators raised the bar so much that I had to go back and work on this piece to bring it up to their level. To me, it’s the moment that brings relevance again to the stories of Ota, Ishi, Minik and Malcolm, leading to a moment of introspection.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michael, for ending our project with such a great poem! Your closing poem was all that we needed to end the roller coaster ride with a bang!
ReplyDelete