He started as The Human Fly:
it was a buzz but he got bored.
He gave sword-swallowing a try
but couldn’t stand the taste of sword.
The high-wire beckoned. With a shout,
he climbed up there in spangled tights
then hurried down: he had found out
he didn’t have a head for heights.
Billed as The Mighty Cannon-Ball,
it seemed this role was without flaws
but one misfire caused him to fall
into a hungry lion’s jaws.
Inside the fearsome beast’s abdomen,
he took his bow: consummate showman.
Richard Fleming
