Plan A: run away to the circus

Who knows these days where plans lie?
The aerial view shows
leotards swung over a trapeze
and a mannequin wrapped up
in a tissu∗ about to drop stars
into the popcorn crowd.

Dizzy spins hula hoop a pair of arms
around my waist.
I see dirt under the painted nails,
don’t know where to start digging,
can’t comprehend why the big top
was buried in the first place.

Water shoots onto soil from
an elephant’s trunk. We paw words
from the mud. They are dressed
in sequins made from many a broken glass.

I can’t see Where exactly,
How and Where as clear as muddy clowns.
But What is climbing a ladder to the sky,
intent on taking a dive leap.

∗ tissu: an aerial apparatus consisting of long draped fabric, also known as silks or ribbons.

Indigo Eli is a poet, artist and performer from South Australia. She is a three-time Australian Poetry Slam national finalist and co-founder of Spoken Word SA. Her poems have been published in journals and anthologies, including Cordite, Rochford Street and Writ Poetry Review. She likes strong coffee and fluffy clouds. More about her and her work can be found here.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.