The Carnival of Dreams

A Macabre Poem by Gary Priest

The pier sulks like a shipwreck on the crooked coastline.
Neon has expired from its once rainbow sweet sign.
“Come Enter The Carnival of Dreams” it expounds.
Beneath this evil edifice lie bodies broken and drowned.

The barker steps up in white topper and tails.
A smile on his face and blood beneath his fingernails.
“Come dreamers and lovers and give in to your desire.”
He weaves a song with his words that twist like piano wire.

“See mysteries from the east and real magic from on high.”
The sun is devoured by a black cloud passing by,
and a shadow is cast that does not match his form.
The beast is revealed but then the darkness moves on.

Into the noise and the rush you take your first step.
The big painted signs peel and flake with neglect.
“Crystal Told Fortunes” and “Exotic Monkey Bird.”
Hide the true purpose that this carnival inters.

Each curtain hides a killer with their own signature despatch.
Crazy Mike likes acid baths and Sally Sue the gallows hatch.
Handsome Felix is a suave and sophisticated strangler.
Big Mary is a notorious and cold-hearted mangler.

The Sagaretti Sisters have poison kisses for you.
The Mighty Mr. Zero has an axe to cleave you in two.
Dead shot Dan will shoot you in each major organ.
Sweet little Marian will drown all the widows and orphans.

This carnival crew aim to kill all who enter their lair.
Some go to the sea  and some to the cooks to prepare.
And each night they will feast as the savage sea roars.
For these carnival folks are carnivores.

---

Gary Priest writes poetry and short fiction, both of which have been published online and in print. He lives in the UK at the end of a dead-end road, which may explain everything.