Raw Earth Ink
spit, mixed with dirt – muddy words flow
Illusions (meet me at the carnival pt 3)
Crooked bow tie and wild hair
A table that hides nothing
Conjuring spellbinding trickery
Cards vanish while coins come into view
Sleight of hand since he was eight
A slick box of tricks
Illusions and allusions
Follow his hands carefully
Always looking in the wrong place
Once lost a wife he never could make reappear
He recalls her laughter
Always wishes to hear it from the crowd
Any volunteers, how about you?
Flaming marshmallow went wickedly wrong
Some tricks are best left alone
tara caribou | ©2020
19 Comments on “Illusions (meet me at the carnival pt 3)”
Raw Earth Ink 
‘Once lost a wife he could never make reappear’, and how he seeks to hear her laugh through the audience, fuck, that hit hard man 😭.
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Thanks! I was thinking this man has this tragic story behind the scenes and he just keeps going.
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Huh, see my interpretation wasn’t just that it was tragic, but that she died in a fire caused by a stray marshmellow that he was instrumental in setting to the task by trying to perform a trick with it… maybe intentionally, so that’s why he regrets it so much. But excellent poem here! I’m starting to doubt my own carnival concept, just so you know… these are so good.
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LOL – no. That wasn’t what I intended. I pictured him in the act of his craft thinking about her, then continuing on, asking for a volunteer. For the marshmallow trick that goes horribly wrong. Actually there’s a story behind that….
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Ooooh, mysterious ellipsis! Now you’ve got me all curious…
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Hahaha! At the fair this summer there was a magician and I was told by one of the roving medics (a neighbor of mine) that apparently he did this flaming marshmallow trick and somehow it ended up getting stuck to some kid’s forehead and marshmallows being what marshmallows are… they couldn’t just scrape it off or get it to stop burning… poor traumatized kid!! and he had second-degree burns on his forehead…. and the guy was banned from doing anything with fire at the fair any longer LOL. Entertaining small-town story but a bummer for the kid and the magician hahaha!!
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See I thought there was a story there, ‘cause the marshmallow was oddly specific. Poor kid, though. I don’t think he will be roasting marshmallows anytime soon after that!
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Keep writing like this – it seems like you are challenging yourself. Great poetry!
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Oh! Thanks Braeden. This was a fun series to write. Some bits harder than others.
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But that’s good – the harder the better.
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uummm yes… the harder the better.
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Great Writing, and always with a tinge of whim.
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Thanks. I happen to like this series.
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You Are Welcome
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This one gave me the giggles.
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Yeah. The marshmallow thing is based on a true story from this summer LOL
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Carnival!
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i think i might just read all the parts! yayy! lol good stuff Tara!
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Thanks Frank
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