The Great Lafayette
Nick Power
Retired carnies come here to drink
They arrive in the afternoon and sit alone
Nursing beers and tons of whiskey
Strolling through pictures of the island of its heyday
Luna, the fire eater, blows smoke rings
That rise up the windows like vapor ghosts
Mermaid twins fall asleep in electric wheelchairs
The Great Lafayette, all 20 stone of him
Sits under the huge wall clock
That hasn't ticked or tocked in many a year
He sits gurgling through his gums
Lost in a dream of the old days
There's a room of carеtakes with nothing to care for
Ride opеrators with no one to buckle in, it's all fallen away
The werewolf has been unmasked