ONE LESS WALLENDA TO WORRY ABOUT

He flies through the air
   with the greatest of ease
but he misses the rope
   and is lost in the breeze

It's four hundred feet
   to the piazza below 
we paid our two bits
   now we're seeing a show

He plummets to earth  
   as calliopes play
his arms and legs swirl
   in a panicked ballet

We hear the last scream
   see a desperate twist
the audience scatters
   for fear of being squished

He lands with a splatter
   unquestionably dead
we wander away 
   slowly shaking our heads

This daring young man
   in the harlequin shirt
who only this morning                      
   so young and alert 

For our entertainment
   was snuffed tragically
(But that's what we actually
   came here to see.)




                                          (Mike O'Brien)