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The circus used to be filled with excitement to astound
Today very few are left because spectators don’t abound
A generation ago numerous children experienced it all
Now the mighty Big Top has vanished with a huge fall
Sitting in the crowd with a perfect seat
Thrilled to adore another tasty treat
The ringmaster keeps the thrilling show moving along
Audiences soon realize that each act lasts only so long
The three rings keep the excitement building and bubbling
Here come the zany clowns who keep the humor rumbling
Dazzling jugglers and daring acrobats delight
Children dream of being in the circus spotlight
Sitting in the crowd with a perfect seat
Eagerly watching performances so sweet
Lions, tigers, and bears—Oh, what a sight to find
Such bravery shown by animal tamers each time
Always pleasing are gigantic elephants from afar
Their majestic presence makes them the stars
Flying high above the crowd is the night’s final act
Trapeze artists display suspense that never lacks
Sitting in the crowd with a perfect seat
Looking forward to each astonishing feat
A few circus companies still travel the globe
The “Greatest Show on Earth” needed to fold
Audiences once filled the Big Top with laughter and awe
Now fading and disappearing memories stumble and fall
A new generation of children may never wonder
How a circus brought applause as loud as thunder
Sitting in the crowd with a perfect seat
Recalling circus images that will repeat
The “Greatest Show on Earth” shut down its operations in 2017 due to declining attendance and revenue shortfalls. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus was, without a doubt, the greatest circus show of them all. As a footnote, John Ringling, one of the circus-owning brothers, arrived in a small town in central Montana in the early 1900s. He planned to invest in cattle ranching and a local railroad. The tiny, quiet hamlet of Ringling is still on the map today along U.S. Highway 89, but you would never know that it can trace some of its history back to the “Greatest Show on Earth.”