Raw Earth Ink
spit, mixed with dirt – muddy words flow
Freakshow (meet me at the carnival pt 4)
Pay the tiny man a pretty penny
Pull back the flap, eyes wide no blinking
Fifty pounds of piercings glitter and gleam
Makes one wonder how he sleeps
Two for the price of one
Three legs, two torsos, two heads
Will she ever find love outside of this tent?
Tattooed scales writhe across his skin
Filed teeth and a forked tongue slithering
Her skin stretches beyond belief
Fire doesn’t burn him
Darbos the Monkey Girl swings from a ledge
Body parts preserved in jars line the back wall
Well placed lighting and a scratchy record
A night of horrors revisits you long after you leave
tara caribou | ©2020
23 Comments on “Freakshow (meet me at the carnival pt 4)”
Raw Earth Ink 
Loving this carnival ride, Tara.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome! I’m so glad you are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this, definitely up there with Pt1.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sweet! I’m glad you’re enjoying it, John.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am loving my stroll through this carnival. The freakshow plays out like a walk through a tunnel, beset on both sides by the freaks making up the show – snapshots of eye-kick details jumping out at you like a never-ending nightmare. What fun!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought so too! I’m glad you’re liking it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Liking it? I am LOVING it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That makes me happy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am a Carney at Heart. Did know an Aligator Lady and her son a good Clarinet player.
Love this post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool. I had a lot of fun with this series. I have at least one more to post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is one exhibit I never visited because I’m a scaredy cat. Lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL that’s okay. You can live through the poem haha!
LikeLike
Love the vivid character imprints that really leap out at the reader – great immersive world-building!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Tom! It was a fun series to write.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderfully captured, and so Victorian, but I can’t escape the metaphor here for the horrors of youth, which both ties in and contrasts with all that has gone before. Really enjoying the ride, Tara.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I sort of wanted to highlight the macabre with the garishness. So glad that worked for you ☺️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tara this series brings back such memories for me, as a child lived close to the Exhibition grounds and saw it all, worked there as a teenager (annual two week carney) but the ‘freakshow’ you nailed it, pull back the flap….. wonderful series
LikeLiked by 1 person
This makes me very happy! That I was able to remind you of the younger days… thanks for sharing that!! 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am enjoying this carnival series 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks my Puppeteer friend! I’m glad that it’s working for you. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Intense images. Such a strong setting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Benjamin… so glad you enjoyed this one.
LikeLike
Welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person