Some Favourites

The Funambulist

Mar 2004

Roger was a funambulist, which may not mean a thing
To anyone not interested in balancing on string.

He used to use his washing line for a dry run every day
But the line just kept on breaking and the knots got in the way.

But as he became more expert the old washing line was gone:
The cables of a suspension bridge were what he walked upon.

I'd like to say you'd see him every weekday without fail,
But he wasn't there one Thursday 'cos they said there'd be a gale

And he got a trifle windy when the weather got the same,
And said that should he be blown off it would be an awful shame.

Yes, Roger was a funambulist with a long and slender pole
Which, when he did funambulate, played quite a major role.

It was very light and whippy with a tendency to bend,
Like on the day a seagull calmly perched upon one end

But Roger was an expert and he countered with a sway,
Which should have been the answer but the seagull flew away

And left the poor man teetering upon the brink of death,
While down below a crowd had gathered and held collective breath.

The watchers' gruesome lust for blood wasn't satisfied that day
For Roger caught his balance, so the crowd just walked away.

Yes, Roger was a funambulist which meant he'd lots of pluck
But when it came to romance he just didn't have much luck.

He joined a "lonely hearts" club which broke his lonely heart,
For he loved a female funambulist but they were poles apart.

So the next week all the papers told of how he'd lost control
And fallen from the suspension bridge 'cos he hadn't used his pole

But things had gone full circle, as they found when he was gone,
For Roger had actually used his pole to hang his washing on.

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the above work is copyright David Axton © All Rights Reserved