Marsha Truman Cooper is a poet and the author of the chapbook A Knot of Worms. She was awarded first prize in the New Letters Literary Awards competition for poetry, and she also received the Bernice Slote Poetry Award. A native of California, Cooper lives with her husband in Goleta.

Photograph by Jim Pendergast.

The Abandoned Flying Horse Carousel, 1879

by Marsha Truman Cooper

When the sword swallower and official
handyman eloped with a soapy
professional bubble blower, the clowns
voted unanimously to take the carnival
on to its next engagement without
removing the carousel from where
it stood in a small town in Rhode Island.

People on couch
To continue reading please sign in.
Join for free
Already a reader? Sign In