![](\"http:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/charlie-chaplin-copy-circus-white.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Take me to the circus<\/p>\n
Where the devils dare<\/p>\n
To balance at the precipice<\/p>\n
Up there in mid-air<\/p>\n
Sitting like a thinker<\/p>\n
Ass upon a chair<\/p>\n
Did I leave the stove on?<\/p>\n
The devil’s mind declared.<\/p>\n
Below the clown was crying<\/p>\n
Nose up sniffing in the air<\/p>\n
Now the daredevil is lying<\/p>\n
To himself up on that chair.<\/p>\n
Whoa is me, whoa is me!<\/p>\n
Said the dog faced boy<\/p>\n
Ordinarily without a care<\/p>\n
The dancin’ bear watched helplessly<\/p>\n
As the Barker was struck<\/p>\n
By a falling chair.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Take me to the circus Where the devils dare To balance at the precipice Up there in mid-air Sitting like a thinker Ass upon a chair Did I leave the stove on? The devil’s mind declared. Below the clown was crying Nose up sniffing in the air Now the daredevil is lying To himself up on that chair. Whoa is me, whoa is me! Said the dog faced boy Ordinarily without a care The dancin’ bear watched helplessly As the Barker was struck By a falling chair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[184,200,188,127,159,147,167,123,152,64],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-absurdist","tag-circus","tag-fable","tag-fantasy","tag-horror","tag-humor","tag-humour","tag-poetry","tag-satire","tag-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/clowns.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3u13S-wF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1294,"url":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/we-are-all-freaks-solidarity\/","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":0},"title":"We are all freaks. Solidarity.","author":"David Raffin","date":"September 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"1916: The gentleman raised an eyebrow. He said, \u201cI shan\u2019t go to the circus for the freaks are revolting!\u201c His servants responded immediately. \u201cIf the freaks are revolting I must go and lend my immediate support! For I love a revolt! Revolution!\u201d Also the gentleman\u2019s wife left him. For the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My books"","block_context":{"text":"My books","link":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/category\/books\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4155,"url":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/here-is-your-pornography\/","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":1},"title":"Here is your pornography","author":"David Raffin","date":"September 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I only watch vintage porn out of respect for those who came before me.This statement is wrong on three levels and makes it seem like this is a circus.How long must we put up with sizeism in porn? They will go to any lengths it seems. It is true that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/category\/books\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1060,"url":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/pod-6-a-disquieting-tale\/","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":2},"title":"Pod 6: A disquieting tale","author":"David Raffin","date":"June 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A story about a man and his place in the universe. A story about the many uses of cell phones. A story that asks the philosophical question: What is it that makes a chair? An excerpt from Tragic Stories Disguised as Jokes. \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image005","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Image005_5-240x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1239,"url":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/bear-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":3},"title":"Bear all","author":"David Raffin","date":"July 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The bear ate a pear You think, how debonair But she wanted the eclair Which was already eaten in a picnick-error By a picnicker who was an au pair But tasted like an upholstered chair So the bear followed up by eating a pear And slept that night without a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My books"","block_context":{"text":"My books","link":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/category\/books\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/1077593_10151504553277823_1904869306_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/1077593_10151504553277823_1904869306_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/1077593_10151504553277823_1904869306_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/1077593_10151504553277823_1904869306_o.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":434,"url":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/a-haircut-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":4},"title":"A haircut story","author":"David Raffin","date":"October 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A few years ago I got a haircut at a home salon which advertised with a homemade sign planted at the side of the driveway. I was sat in the chair and prepped. She started cutting. Within seconds she attempted small talk. \"So, you have a girlfriend?\" \"No,\" I said.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/category\/books\/writing\/personal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2400,"url":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/bildungsroman-re-piped\/","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":5},"title":"Bildungsroman re-piped","author":"David Raffin","date":"January 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cIt is my sad duty to inform you that the \u2026president\u2026 was shot twenty-five minutes ago and has been transported to the hospital.\u201d The children in Frank\u2019s class cheered. It was not an uncommon occurrence. It happened in other classes. The teacher\u2019s face fell. He scowled at the children and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My books"","block_context":{"text":"My books","link":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/category\/books\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/22299004-D62A-4738-BA99-B1236FB817CF.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/22299004-D62A-4738-BA99-B1236FB817CF.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/22299004-D62A-4738-BA99-B1236FB817CF.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/22299004-D62A-4738-BA99-B1236FB817CF.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidraffin.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}