Step Right Up
John Jessup Kennan 1953 (Pomona)
So I'm grinning like the Cheshire
Canary that ate the cat
I sang my prose, I tipped my toes
And now I tap my hat
Selling secrets as if I thought
You should think that they should matter
I'm a carnival contraption
I'm the Madder Madcap Hatter
Pay for your ticket, find your seat
Have a cup of tea, m'dear
The theaters filled, the souls are empty
We're all mad here
There's popcorn laced with Thorazine
Gray Matter Flambe on a bun
Bathtubs filled with banana slugs
We're gonna have a whole lot of fun
Check your soul at the door, my dear
Hang it right there with your brother's
Empty your dignity, remove your belt
Through the scanner with the others
Pay for your ticket, find your seat
Have a cup of tea, m'dear
The theaters filled, the souls are empty
We're all mad here
Tattoos and piercings a la mode
Discounts on amputations
Won't feel a thing we feel dancing
In surgically enhanced sensation
The roses are all crocheted here
The poop in the garden plastic
The flies just props from a novelty store
Come trip the implanted dark fantastic
Pay for your ticket, find your seat
Have a cup of tea, m'dear
The theaters filled, the souls are empty
We're all mad here
Follow me down this staircase, dear
Music is playing, house lights dimmed
Don't worry, your eyes will adjust to the dark
Hurry -- the show is about to begin
So now I'm grinning like the Cheshire
Canary that ate the cat
I sang my prose, I tipped my toes
And now I tap my hat
Pay for your ticket, find your seat
Have a cup of tea, m'dear
The theaters filled, the souls are empty
We're all mad here
© John Kennan fall 2013
Font size:
Submitted by rankstranger7 on May 24, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:35 min read
- 18 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | aBCB xada EFGH ddxd fixi EFGH xxxd hjxj EFGH fxxx aBCB EFGH x |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,562 |
Words | 300 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Step Right Up" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100770/step-right-up>.
Discuss the poem Step Right Up with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In