A PRICE TOO HIGH
Maureen Clifford © The Scribbly Bark Poet 02/13
When the fair
came to town there was music and laughter,
and bright
dodgem cars and the carousel swings;
bright pink fairy floss, hot dogs, strawberry ice creams
and horses and
chickens and other great things.
And lost in the
noise and the madness and mayhem
stood one grubby
urchin with tears on his face;
a little boy
lost in the crowds of the funfair
who wanted his mother,
and out of this place.
When the fair
came to town there were flags all a- waving
and cries of ’hurrah!’
and loud cheers from the town.
The men marched
right proudly in perfect formation
all ready to
fight for king, country and crown.
And lost in the
noise and the madness and mayhem
a heartbroken
Mother sobbed soft in despair,
for though she
was proud of those fine men before her
‘twas her only
boy who she watched marching there.
Now the fair
came to town for the war drums were silent
and cries of ‘hurrah!’
rang out over the square.
The band played,
the crowd cheered, the men marched, not briskly
but somewhat
more ragged and bowed down with care.
And lost in the
noise and the madness and mayhem
with ticker tape
fluttering down from the sky,
one thin
wraithlike figure was pushed in a wheelchair;
he’d only one
leg now, and only one eye.
His last time at
the fair he had stood hale and hearty,
so worried his mother would be left alone,
for there was no
other to care for this woman;
whose husband was killed at the Battle of Somme .
And sitting ‘midst
noise and the madness and mayhem
was one damaged
urchin who’d never more roam;
now pushed like
a babe once again by his Mother
who stood tall
and proud as she took her boy home.
