Day 3: The Elephant's Dream

Today's prompt was to write a fourteener - a poem with fourteen syllables per line, following an iambic pattern (an unstressed syllable, followed by a stressed syllable). I think I've got the syllables down, less sure about the iambic pattern. This might well be a poem I come back to, but for now enjoy the dream of a foolish elephant. - Katie

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The Elephant's Dream

It was a starry night the day the circus came to town

That shining big top tent held up with pegs stuck in the ground

The strange, inviting poster with a picture of a clown

When evening fell Tilly and Tim set out towards the field

Towards the lights, towards the tent whose contents so appealed

Their minds ablaze with thoughts of all the mysteries it might yield.

"Roll up! Roll up! Now don't be shy!" the man before them cried

At twelve foot tall he seemed as though his head was the sky

"There are strange sights to behold me dears, won't you come inside?"

They paid their fee and entered in and gasped at what they saw

Past cages of strange animals they wandered rapt with awe

They stopped before a dancing bear who gave a fearful roar

"He won't bite children, don't be scared" a voice behind them said,

They turned to see a lady, but she hadn't got a head!

At least not on her shoulders, but under her arm instead.

They hurried on towards the tent along a stall-lined street

Past fortune tellers, sideshows, rows of toffee apple treats

They hurried through the canvas flap and quickly took their seats

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Children of every size!

Tonight, within this very ring, before your very eyes!

You'll see a show magnificent! Remarkable! Sublime!

There'll be acrobats in coloured hats who fly above your head

Teams of tigers, loads of lions, and elephant called Fred

A man who swallows swords, a man who walks along a thread!

But first, of course, the clowns! We hope you'll find them diverting!"

They ran in throwing cream pies, pratfalls and water squirting

Tim and Tilly laughed and laughed until their sides were hurting

The show went on without a pause, with not a single gap

They saw tigers leap through rings of fire, lions behave like cats

They marveled at the acrobats and at their coloured hats

And then the ringmaster bade them to cheer and yell and whoop

And entered Fred the Elephant wearing a hula-hoop

When Fred began to shake his hips the hoop began to loop!

The crowd went mad! The crowd went nuts! They went absolutely wild!

And Fred the Hooping Elephant looked up and gave a sigh

For Fred's dream was not to hula-hoop: Fred's dream was to fly

But unbeknownst to anyone the elephant was firm

That night a subtle change had swept across the pachyderm

And now his moment had arrived and he began to squirm

He dropped the hoop and ran for it, across to the trapeze

"I'll show them!" thought the elephant, "I'll glide and float with ease!"

He climbed and jumped aboard the swing, though it was quite a squeeze

Alas, alack, poor elephant! He should have realised!

A simple circus tent trapeze can't take someone his size!

A snap! A crack! A creak! A groan! The sound of cries below!

And downward crashed the circus tent pulled by the weight of Fred

It really was a miracle that nobody was dead

Tim and Tilly scrambled out from beneath the canvas spread

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children large and small

It seems as though I must owe apologies to you all

I hope that nobody was really injured in the fall?

There's certainly a lesson here we must learn in our plight

And you can all be sure that the next time I'll get it right

When hiring elephants make sure that they're afraid of heights!

The circus left town that very night, never to return

Along with Fred the Elephant, who still for flight did yearn

But he has learnt and now remains a grounded pachyderm.