![\"\"](\"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/helen-cirkus-31.jpg\" "\\"helen-cirkus-3\\"")
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Cirkus<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I can’t understand the clown The lion tamers Side splits in the silk The drip of silver and turquoise, A camel dances the token Sahara Waltz – And the faith of the straight-backed boy in blue <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Words by Helen Pletts\u2028<\/strong> whose two collections, Bottle bank<\/a> and For the chiding dove<\/a>, are both\u2028published by YWO\/Legend Press (supported by The Arts Council) and\u2028available on Amazon. Bottle bank was longlisted for The Bridport \u2028Poetry Prize 2006, under Helen\u2019s maiden name of Bannister. You are \u2028welcome to visit http:\/\/www.stem-of-quietly-disarrayed-fertility.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n Image by Romit Berger<\/strong> who says\u00a0 \u201cI am a graphic designer. I met my very dear friend, Helen Pletts, in Prague, several years ago. Helen\u2019s inspiration has led my graphic design career into that magical realm which combines illustration and poetry, and our creative wings continue to connect our souls through time and distance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cirkus I can’t understand the clown but the red looks beautiful – gold braid bitten into the fibres. The lion tamers (ticket collectors on Sundays) have fallen under the gymnast’s cloak of sand dust. I swear she kicked them as she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry","category-word-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2505"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21026,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505\/revisions\/21026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nbut the red looks beautiful –
\ngold braid bitten into the fibres.<\/p>\n
\n(ticket collectors on Sundays)
\nhave fallen under the gymnast’s cloak
\nof sand dust.
\nI swear she kicked them as she left the ring
\n– their tongues pawing at her tights.
\nBut she is the one snarling
\nat the broom boys
\nwho left grit on the star;
\nsharp under her toes.<\/p>\n
\npart like a ripe red mouth
\nand the red swallows hard.<\/p>\n
\nthe strip of air
\nlashes over the heads
\nof six black Russian stallions
\nand the smell of horse
\nstraw-smart and welcome,
\nbrings the rush of animal.<\/p>\n
\nher face a tea-sipping marchioness.
\nFur dewlaps a-ruffling
\nshe bows out like the horses.<\/p>\n
\ngraces a stack of white wooden chairs
\n(no net).<\/p>\n