a starless sky changes to oiled boards
island palms leak into the past
iron at large in the sunsets of hatted faces

the manacled lion knows the voice
of restless pawing whether it’s by
elephant man cripple dwarf two head

or in the juggle of homesick blues
wavy distance overwhelms the seas
circus merry go rounds eat ‘the cannibal’s’ future

strange lands poke through ribs
kidnap springs a trap of longitudinal
whispers on isthmus tussocks

ankles sucked between reeds sound out
the last breath of the cicada’s haunting
mummify sighs in the dime museum

Australian Geographic telling of Jimmy and his family’s story in this horrific episode of colonialism and racism here: https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/history-culture/2012/06/the-strange-tale-of-aboriginal-circus-performers/

The ABC also carried the story on several sites. He was brought home to Palm Island, 110 years after he was taken. While the story of his return is now another generation older, the haunting is live, around us every day.

This is a revised version of the Song poem  which was originally floated five years or so ago.