The Joker
The spotlight flashes funny flair
on the showy sagged dress,
miniature crimson cold sun stuck
on the puckered porcelain face.
An animated caricature captured
in comical frail human figure,
tramps round and round
the circus arena to amuse.
The sprightly body swivels
in flexed shuffle of acrobatics,
sleight of supple hands performs
the perfect act of jugglery,
but the labored buffoonery
of the funny fragile joker,
falls flat as flakes of stale joke
on the silent spectators.
Before the neon lights go out
in the last show and the curtain falls,
the slapsticks peel slowly
the paint off his sweaty face,
unmask the trail of tears
he has long shed un-noticed.
He leaves the stage singing a song,
the lyric written by his broken heart.
The uproar of laughter at long last
explodes with claps in the gallery,
the applause hails the joker,
left to live the comedy of life.
____________________
September 15, 2022
For A Brian Strand Premiere Choice Contest
Copyright © Subimal Sinha-Roy | Year Posted 2022
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