Classic Poem

A clown fell down — the watcher did not laugh:
An elephant profaned a dance: a girl
Grinned in her lurid smugness on the backs
Of horses, while a tall and whiskered churl
Cracked whips to aid her: parrots swore at snakes:
Mules kicked above the sawdust: dumb giraffes
Were chased by monkeys: dogs rode baby-carts:
While men and women raised their child-like laughs,
But still the watcher stared and made no sound
Until a man beside him, vicious, jowled,
Remarked: " Now, I'm a happy boy again " :
The watcher slumped within his seat ... and howled.