I don't want to play anymore:
I'm not feeling up to the task.
And though people still like to laugh:
I've decided to drop my mask.
My act is no longer funny:
and most likely will be my last.
For my performance in whiteface
proves, I'm a relic of the past.
It's difficult to paint a smile
on top of a persistent frown.
Yet, in costume, I'm expected
to flip every frown upside down.
My lifelong fantasy has been:
to be a clown; it was my dream.
Yet, it's time I tried something else,
less emotionally extreme.
When I gaze into a mirror,
I need to see more than a clown.
And I'll don a genuine smile
that will no longer bring me down.
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