Best Tatters Poems

Suddenly from somewhere
A street urchin-
An untamed bird of the wider sky
Dropped down
Into the circus tent
Before him was unfurled
Scenes eerie….awesome!!

Roaring lions and tigers,
Gibbering baboons, caravans of camels,
Animal tamers and acrobats,
Artists balancing on poles
Swinging from bars to trapeziums
Pliant girls with plastic limbs
And pouting breasts,
Walking on tight ropes.
A...

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Why
Did I
Get sucked in
Like a big fish 
And play with the clowns
There went my rent money
I'm a laughing stock at cards
My life's a big circus as is 
The only poker I know is fun
My
Oh my
See my face
After that loss
I'm at loss for words
My insides are...

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TOM THE TATTERS MAN






The sidewalk creaked the old-ship-creak, cracking away a gorge at last;
  asphalt split like wood, split-fast and bastions and toilets ------
  overflowing fast; flooding through the deep dark cracks:
  the Drunken Dance

Tom the Tatters Man, Tom and Ned -------...

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I don't want to play childish games
no more, or don a funny mask.
And though people still need to laugh,
I'm no longer up to the task.

My act isn't as funny today,
I'm but a relic of the past.
And a smile painted on white-face
unfortunately, just doesn't last.

I find...

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Life used to be so glorious for me
when no one feared or scorned me. Children flocked
to circuses and parties just to see
my great performances. This clown’s life rocked!

The world has changed, but I’ve maintained my style.
I ride my red tricycle, juggle balls,
and do my slapstick...

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Oh boy of the fifties born and bred,
London's burning while Nero plays
His strings of chord while Christians bled.
Aah, memories of the good old days.

Lions consumed the prisoner wretch,
Encircled by thousands roaring down.
Tarred and stricken as to fletch,
And blasphemy adorns the Sacred Crown.

Oh this bleeding Heart...

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Let me tell you a story . . .  

A story about a clown called Tatters who loves to entertain,
he wears a whitewashed face with showy greasepaint features:
Tatters, has red balding hair ragged and straggly always,
his nose is red and honks, his outfit baggy...

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platypus features 
      greasepaint pallor weirdo clown
              red nose big honker 
        outlandish shoes flail around 
   ...

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Eyes, silent and soft, a whisper
Falling across so many hearts,
Breathing in affections, singing
Caresses, messages…
Yet filled with melancholy
Doubt and despair, darkness
In clouds of regret, without the
Sparkle of life they had once,
Long ago…
When he was young, filled with
Wonder and inspired…
By the brilliance of the sunrise,
The intimacy of...

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Morning's oddest clown, like a kangaroo.
With facepaint, torn clothes, and hued patch. 
With a crimson nose, he lifted his arms through.
A child-suitable flat crown hairdo for eyes catch.

His frantic boots frightened the youthful face.
Night clown's vibe, comical eyes incite conceit.
Feast out, chairs are dull again and still...

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Rags To Threadbare Tatters...
(a true “FAKE” story
how Mein Kampf - chill as hoary
frost – and totaling lacking glory.)

A woeful disgraceful
cautionary tale stitched
     from the barest thread
harkens back half life
     of yours truly
     comprising...

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I pull on
the
threads
that hold us together

I pick at the seams
that time has
frayed

and 
I fear that
our
love will become unravelled
because
due
to the wear and tear
of
our day to
day
troubles
my
needle and thread
will
prick
my fingertips
as my blood
stains its beauty
and
 the scissors
Just won't seem to snip
and
the colors have begun to dim
or maybe thats my
eyes
that...

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His clothes were tattered, in vivid shades of red blue & yellow
he wore leatherette shoes blackly polished and gleaming with shine
Red fiery hair that  summoned like a fire hydrant and a big fat rubber nose that honked when it was squeezed. 
He had a...

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no more smiles for me
you ~ life broke this loving heart
A frown I must wear

 

Date Written: 1/5/2023...

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Here am I in my vibrant facade
Performing well to cheer others
Yet my soul is in tatters, my eyes can’t deny
Needing assurance for triumphant future…
Oh, Lord, please help me smite crisis-fear.

Here am I striving to fulfill my comedian role
Exposing antics of mirth-filled laughter
Though my heart is...

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