La Belle Epoque Poem by michael spangenberg

Dignified, grey-hair cigarette-smoking cashier
Thinking-outside-the-box of her humble ticket-office
One place for $2, three places for $5, eight places for
Ten Bucks,20 places for twenty
All day long for much less than a Grand
What happened with the free lunch?

French carrousel, so picturesque
Do they still make them, sometime, somewhere?
Red riding hood girls on amazing swans
Poverty of blue elephants without clothes
Towering giraffes, Empire State building-like
Cool black and pink-punk donkeys (without Jesus)
Roaring lions with dangerous teeth, where's the dentist?
Bright lights non-stop happily flickering
Reminding me, dirty mind, of infamous Red Light Districts.

All of a sudden black ravens clouding starry, starry night
Noise or signal, it doesn't matter - who cares
Impressionistic colors, popular music
'Make the world a better place for you & me
And for the Universe, ' whatever's left after Climate change
My natural cynicism's melting down, gradually transgressing
into in a bouquet of cautious optimism, tiny sparks of hope.

Petit prince airplanes, Afro boy's excitement wide-open eyes
Curious George, Babar the wise elephant, TinTin au Congo
Wooah, wooah - mon pauvre Milou! , captain Haddock
Predatory animals of wood, ceramics, all the fucking
extinct species, Thomas the train & all his Buddies
Vietnamese boy with fat glasses, 'poor makes clever'
Future engineer: mechanical, silicon, perhaps Solar
Are the number of large mirrors & their Wuthering Heights
Not somewhat overdone, like gun violence?
The grandiose Bulls & Bears&Co. of Wall Street
Mimicking the manic-depressive moods of financial markets
Fire engines, police brutality, ambulance, John Deer tractors
Boys in Harrod Toy's shop, nonchalantly carrousel around.

Don't feed the Horse, don't rescue the Alligator - neither the Tiger
Don't change place when riding on Giraffes, or white Sharks
You can't pay in installments, Major Credit cards not accepted
the carrousel of reality TV, no video - 21st century déjà vu
Children carrousels now-a-days require Laws & Bylaws
Annual General Meetings, surprise Audits, Balance Sheets.

Happy parents, happier offspring, where parental selfishness
Naturally blends with tiny fractions of quasi-altruism, Zimbabwe
Girl wearing silver-plated gym shoes, she's eloquently whispering
Muslim hymns, black raven tattoo's smoking cheap Cuban cigars
Cohabitation Craftsmanship before the Holy Spirit closes the book.