A Poem: 2020, the Year there was no Fryeburg Fair

As Featured in The Conway Daily Sun.

2020 has been rough
I’m sure we’ve all had quite enough
You know that you’re not my favorite year

Yet another tragedy
You took the Fryeburg Fair from me
I simply can’t believe that it’s not here

This is always a special time
When everything is just sublime
But not this year, now I’m pretty pissed

While I sit in quarantine
My mind wanders and I dream
Of each and everything that I just missed

Animals should be everywhere
With diff’rent feathers, fur, and hair
The oxen pull the sleds with such vigor

The sheep are soft, the goats are coarse
Look at the size of that draft horse
I swear each year they look a little bigger

There are animals for the kids
Like those cute pot belly pigs
Down at Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo

Missing this of course is sad
Though this year’s not all bad
At least there’s no manure on my shoes

Think of all the stuff I could get
With another stimulus check
And a little time in the craft barn

A coat, a sign, a pocket book
I would give them all a look
But there’s nothing here to buy, oh darn

I’d wield a saw, I’d thrown an axe
On Monday I’d be a lumberjack
Watching all the loggers on Woodsmen’s Day

The concerts should be in the air
Solo singers and bands everywhere
But alas there are no instruments to play

I really miss the giant slide
But maybe not the spinning rides
That whirl and twirl and flip till I get sick

I should be playing carney games
With rings and darts and guns to aim
Of course I’d win and the big prize I would pick

I could hang out at the grand stands
Watching real life events on demand
Chariots and horses, watch them race

On the races I may gamble
Then enjoy the pig scramble
Instead I sit with mask upon my face

No blacksmiths and no sugar shack
And what about all those snacks
The best of foods that make our mouths all water

No chocolate covered Oreos
Nor powdered sugar on fried dough
And no cotton candy for my daughter

No sausages and no French fries
And my favorite, whoopie pies
That’s enough, my mood is getting dimmer

Well maybe it’s for the best
No fighting traffic, I can rest
And I’ll even stay a little thinner

Oh forget it, this is the worst
No excitement no quenched thirst
But there is one thing keeping me in touch

I know the fair is coming back
And when it does I will attack
Next year I’m gonna eat twice as much!

So I’ll wait till next October
It may be tough to stay sober
A COVID vaccine must not be late

The Fryeburg Fair will come back strong
And right the 2020 wrongs
Next year’s fair will be truly great

By Mike and Steph Davis @ The White Gables Inn

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