Tatters

The spotlight flashes fun on the sagged garb An animated caricature in comical human figure With miniature red sun stuck on the porcelain nose Tramps around the circus pitch making silly jokes. The nimble body turns in flexed acrobatic moves Sleight of hands performs the perfect jugglery act But the labored buffoonery of the fragile jester Falls flat as peels of stale joke on silent spectators. Before the neon lights go out in the last show The slapsticks strip the paint off his sweaty face Uncovering the trail of tears he has secretly cried He sings a song on the lyric of his broken heart. The urn of contained laughter explodes in the gallery The applause hails Tatters, the grotesque clown of pathos. _______________ January 6, 2023 Contest : Tatters Sponsored by : Mystic Rose Rose