Joseph P. DiMino Poet Free verse

Pagliacci

Of course, a clown
is always clowning
as poets paint their write -- 
before with pen and ink

dip we nibs wells of performance

transforming dark ink
to colorful spectacle in showtime
spot of light -- like the pancake 

our many harlequins, 

like Arora, a rainbow
after cloudburst
real tears or daisy squirt?

we apply our big-top makeup

to cover-up and hide

otherwise unmanageable crowds

of deeply incised hurt --

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Andrea Dietrich June 3, 2025 at 10:41 PM Our big top makeup. Great line. Our art like a circus show! Joseph P. DiMino June 4, 2025 at 9:10 AM Thank you, Andrea; have a beautiful writing day! Center Ring, on with the show!!

Gershon Wolf May 26, 2025 at 8:24 PM Oh, what a gut-punch of pure truth you've delivered here to the tortured souls behind the masks. Bravo, Joe! Joseph P. DiMino May 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM Hi Gershon; on with the show! Thank you, my friend.

Paula Goldsmith May 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM What a powerful write you have here. Just like clowns, I guess we all wear makeup of some kind. Have a wonderful day/week writing away............. Joseph P. DiMino May 12, 2025 at 10:29 PM We imagine what we should be.... Thank you, Paula. Have a blessed writing week!

Hilda Greenhough May 12, 2025 at 8:13 AM I like your poem. Circus was always a false reality but quick getaway during summer months. Thanks for the memories. Joseph P. DiMino May 12, 2025 at 10:38 PM Thirty of my first forty years, was a torturous circus I would not wish on anyone. The next near 50 have been interesting, to say the least. Thank you, Hilda.

Joe Maverick May 9, 2025 at 11:15 AM The last line really 'cuts it' Joe Dimino...For me Amyway.? Also other very good metaphors in Its creative lines..' Joseph P. DiMino May 9, 2025 at 1:17 PM Hi Joe; thank you. Hope all is well with you, and you are getting some needed rest. Blessings my friend.

Silent One May 8, 2025 at 6:22 AM Your poems are always so much deeper than the words you display, I guess just like the smile of a clown.... so many cover up and hide, yet special ones see them... no matter how large the crowd... great analogy my friend.. Joseph P. DiMino May 8, 2025 at 5:57 PM Hi Si; so pleased you found this work worth a read. I love to write. Thank you for the encouragement.

Anne-Lise Andresen May 8, 2025 at 5:48 AM - Not showing who one really is ... cover-up and hide behind a mask ... often natural for us humans, Joe :) - hugs Joseph P. DiMino May 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM None are immune. Individual personality, in a sense, is a mask...for God is in and behind everything, ourselves made of God Substance -- we are illusions of individuality -- masks of God.