Jacob

I: The Path

He, at such a tender age,
walked the path which paved the way
for many things;
Some great, some sad, some things for the best
and some for the worst.
Alas, his praises nobody sings.

He watched her every day in class,
frustrated and filled with desire,
His young heart knew not of what lay ahead,
His imminent baptism of fire.

A determined and strong young man was he,
Aware of his hopes and his fears,
as any gentleman should be.
He had knowledge beyond that of his years.

He knew of his main aim in life,
His career was perfectly mapped,
He would work hard, and he would strive
to keep his father's dream alive
and take over the family business.
However, at college, he felt he was trapped.
Trapped in a room, knee to knee with temptation,
Trapped in a room full of high expectation.
No, nobody sung his praises,
so he never thought he'd do any good,
not even she sung his praises,
but he still loved her as much as he could.

The path stretched out far ahead of him,
Stretched away to a life yet unknown,
And he walked on and on, right down it,
to his future - his hopes, his fears and his dreams.

II: The Struggle

That day started like any other - birds were singing high up in the trees,
The sun beat down warm on his shoulders, and his love was all he could see.
He knew not of just what lay ahead of him
that glorious, bright sunny day;
He knew not of the grief and despair lying dormant in his lecturer's chest,
Knew not of the things he would say
That would shake him, change his world forever.

He never expected that day to be taken aside,
His books and his dreams lying scattered as he cried
and learned of the terrible way his parents died.

A simple drive in the country had taken a turn for the worse,
and now all he could do on hearing the news was curse
everything he had,
all he knew,
what he wanted and loved.

Blinded by grief, he ran,
Knowing not just where he was bound,
Then by chance, on the first train he found
he jumped.
Whatever it was he was hoping to find
by boarding that train that day is unknown,
But it is certain he wanted to leave his old life behind,
and start anew in some fresh, green wondrous land.

He wasn't alone on the train that day;
Two other passengers kept him company
and finally told him just where he was headed -
The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth
was to be his new home.
It was certain, then, that he would not be alone.
Perhaps the struggle to grasp his parents' death,
his thoughtless escape
had all been for the best - perhaps the circus would bring him new hope,
distract him enough, with its mirrors and smoke
for him to truly start again.
Perhaps, he thought, I'll fall under the circus's spell.
Perhaps, he thought, as the train came on home, only time will tell.

III: Destiny

The young man was shunned by the kinkers at first,
left by the wayside, thrown in with the worst of the lot -
but he knew, and Marlena did, too, that he was a good young man.

Marlena, the Ringmaster August's wife,
Her mature beauty, her zest for life
caught his attention and he fell in deep.
Forbidden love, he thought, is best,
Yet it is such a torment, he never could rest
for thinking about her.
But she was not his.
She could not be his.
She somehow would be his.

Once he had settled in, he met Rosie.
He fell in love, now two had his heart in their grasp.
She loved him so much that she obeyed him faithfully
as he stroked her side and made commands in Polish -
he never once felt silly, never once felt a fool
for loving this pachyderm,
nor for harbouring a love so cruel
for his fair, sweet and dear Marlena.
His Marlena who was not his at all.
This, he thought, would not stop the fall.
August, he knew, did not like him much,
He knew that August knew his every move,
His every thought and his longing to touch
His Marlena
Without a word ever having passed between them.
August was cold, he knew of the freedom
Jacob and Marlena could have if he surrendered her to him.
But he could not - he was too proud of her,
She was his trophy, along with the show,
All this gave him power and status - she could never go;
August had a life far too good to leave.
Marlena, however, vehemently disagreed.
August could see this too - her love for Jacob.
The connection between the two was magnetic,
Compared to her love for Jacob, what she felt for August was pathetic.

Overcome with rage and confusion, August fought Jacob,
threatened him with death,
but Jacob retaliated just as well - he well and truly put August through hell
by stealing his woman and charming her easily,
leaving August powerless.

Later, after Marlena took her leave,
The two shared a tender night in a hotel,
cementing their love and their extraordinary tale.
After that night, they agreed, they would run;
By morning they would have a new life in the sun
and the green of the quaint New York countryside.
So they ran, and they married, made many a child
and lived in their wonderful postcard bliss,
Not one hint of remorse in each loving kiss.

Now, old and frail, he should not have been
so mad as to run away again - he was sick of the way things were;
so plain, formulaic, so much time to spare
when he could be doing what he really loved.
Marlena had gone, his children had grown,
now, he thought, since I am so alone,
Ringling called to him - he was young again.
Defiant, he looked up at the tall circus tent
"Why the hell shouldn't I run away with the circus?!"
Doubt quickly came and went.
So he, now ninety - or ninety-three - once again joined the circus;
for one final time, he fulfilled his destiny.