circuses

Tales From Beyond The Town: Pocket Editions #16-#21

I had six different colours of card. So I made six different tiny tales.

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Pocket Tales #16: Tales From The Sea

Carousel

The circus was washed away in a storm. Now the horses only turn with the tides.

Clowns

But at least the clowns no longer laugh.

Vents

Everyone liked the word ‘vents’

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Pocket Tales #17: Tales From The Beach

Instead of buckets, paper bags, But the spades were still plastic.

View From Above

You cannot escape the watchful drones

Beak

The gulls were not amused

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Pocket Tales #18: Tales From The Fields

In the long grass
the cat
dreams it was a lion

Barrows

Waves of earth
two thousand years old
full of bones older still

Dandelions

They float
They are lighter than air

Slow Worm

It snakes, despite itself

*****

Pocket Tales #19: Tales From The Woods

From above everything looks green.
But when you’re in it, it’s brown in every direction

The Walls In The Woods

Everyone loves the walls in the woods
Old boundaries between forgotten kingdoms
Identities and purposes no longer known

Bole

A beautiful word for a beautiful a thing

Above/Below

There is no difference
between the above and below

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Pocket Tales #20: Tales From Mars

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Pocket Tales #21: Tales From The Candle Flame

Look into me
and think
and wish
and wait

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Notes:

1. Tales From The Sea was written between the 16th and the 19th of June, 2023 (mainly due to drawing all those jellyfish)
2. Tales From The Beach was written on August 3rd, 2023
3. And the other four were written on September 4th, 2023
4. Previous Pocket Tales can be found here: #1-#4, #5-#9, #10-#12, #13-#15
5. If you want to chart their steady decline

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The Circus

The circus was in town. You could tell this by all the posters round town telling you the circus was in town.

And also there was a clown scrabbling at my front door.

I’m not sure why clowns were attracted to my house but they always were, whenever they were in town. My sister reckoned it might be due to the way our house was in the same field as the circus, but I’m not sure it had anything to do with that.

I reckoned it was because they knew about the hole.

I’m not going to tell you about the hole.

It’s not safe.

I hadn’t even told my sister.

I hadn’t told the clowns either but I’m pretty sure they knew.

I made sure the front door was locked tight and left the clown there, scrabbling, always scrabbling. I’d have to re-do the paint once the circus had gone, but that’s a small price to pay for maintaining a clownless house.

There was another clown scrabbling at the bathroom window, but I climbed into the bath anyway. It’s not like it was going to see much through the frosted glass anyway.

I fell asleep and dreamt of many things.

Later on, in my bathrobe, I absentmindedly opened the back door and went outside for a fag and the whole bleeding lot of them swarmed in and made straight for the hole.

I sighed and smoked my cigarette and wandered over to the circus in my slippers to tell them about their loss.

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Notes:

1. Written on 18th July, 2016

__________

Support An Accumulation Of Things

If you like the things you've read here please consider subscribing to my patreon or my ko-fi.

Patreon subscribers get not just early access to content and also the occasional gift, but also my eternal gratitude. Which I'm not sure is very useful, but is certainly very real.

(Ko-fi contributors probably only get the gratitude I'm afraid, but please get in touch if you want more).

Thank you!

The Circus

Q. Where is the circus?
A. The circus is beyond the legal limits of the city.

Q. When is the circus?
A. The circus is now and then and beyond which no-one knows.

Q. Will I be able to attend the circus?
A. It is none of our concern.

Q. Will I be able to leave the circus?
A. No

Q. Will there be animals at the circus?
A. Only after dark.

Q. When will it be dark?
A. When the lights go off.

Q. When will it be over?
A. When the screaming stops.

Q. What then?
A. Survivors may apply for refunds at the ticket pit.

Q. Can I please come to the circus?
A. We can all come to the circus.

Q. I’d prefer it if only I could go
A. The circus is for all of us and all of us alone.

Q. I have my own arm.
A. You’re hired.

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Notes:

1. Written on June 29th, 2016

__________

Support An Accumulation Of Things

If you like the things you've read here please consider subscribing to my patreon or my ko-fi.

Patreon subscribers get not just early access to content and also the occasional gift, but also my eternal gratitude. Which I'm not sure is very useful, but is certainly very real.

(Ko-fi contributors probably only get the gratitude I'm afraid, but please get in touch if you want more).

Thank you!