In fragments and tatters, in pieces and shards, scattered by the winds of time,
I gather them carefully, even if they hurt me, my fingers bleed, but I do not stop,
These precious fragments, these bitter shards, these tattered edges and broken tears,
I collect them with longing, refusing to let them fall into oblivion,
Each piece carries with it a story, an echo of what once was,
A puzzle of lost memories, a constellation of desires and regrets,
I cannot let them be lost in the void, to dissolve into the silence of forgetting,
For they are part of me, of who I was and who I am now,
I carve a path through the shadows of the past, through the ruins of shattered dreams,
I bend down to gather what remains, to weave again the tapestry of my life,
With each shard and each tatter, I build a new beginning,
I refuse to give up, to surrender to despair, for in these fragments lie the seeds of hope.
Tatters, a tall funny clown
Is so famous in town
Always at a birthday party
Making kids extremely happy
But every trick or joke he makes
A disguise of his heartaches
Brought by his painful past
Grown at streets, feeling outcast
Parents died when he was ten
Adopted, abused and maltreated
He left home and went astray
His life went miserable everyday
Trying to cover up his sadness
Works at carnivals for madness
Entertaining people at parties
Loud laughter conceals
Within his bright costume
Are tattered clothes and soul
Struggling to hide his gloom
While trying to cheer us all
Jan 11, 2023 8.05am
This poetry contest is closed. Enter a new contest here: Poetry Contests
SECOND CHANCE
Contest Judged: 1/18/2023 1:39:00 AM
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Place: 8 ( order 1,3,5,8,10, HM in multi-w)
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 in tatters, my eyes reveal
Ailing with hopelessness’ scare…
Yes, Lord, I need You to overcome depression-blight.
Here am I radiantly clad in my clown costume
Facing spotlights to bring smiles of delight
Midst my spirit that is in tatters, my eyes show
Concealing reality against truth’s nakedness…
Dear Lord, keep me in Your peace*.
Here am I struggling over my hypocrisy
Succumbing to human nature flaw
With my will already in tatters, my eyes manifest
Admitting need of my faith to be strong…
Thank You, Lord, for Your love that can save me.
*2Thessalonians 3:16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means.
January 9, 2023
8th place, "SECOND CHANCE" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; judged on 1/18/2023.
I make you laugh but, within me, I cry,
Will my wet eyes dry only when I die...?
My makeup makes you feel chuckle at me,
My heavy heart within, you cannot see...!
Trained like a beast, I learn tricks of my trade,
At arduous times, who comes to my aid...?
Pain and I are siblings born together,
Grief and I are like a bird and feather...!
Though anxieties brim-fill my whole soul,
I smile, like a flower, and gently stroll...!
I feed you with the elixir of fun,
From the same elixir, my heart does shun...!
My life seems simple like a plain landscape,
I know the tough traps through where I escape...!
Everything seems absurd at each day's end,
Midst numerous friends I find no true friend...!
The little rainbows that light up my path,
Get wiped away by torrential rain's wrath...!
The castles of joy I build soon collapse,
I build on, yet, amidst each fatal lapse...!
09 January 2023
TATTERS Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Mystic Rose Rose
Jester wrapped in worn out wears.
Forced smile to hide the tears.
A feeling wrapped in crafty disguise
for being so loud is not wise.
A shield that echoes happiness,
but deep within is loneliness,
for the ghost of yester years
hunts the soul, but no one hears.
A prisoner of act undone;
Of dreadful things that wished not done.
Like a creeping shadow in memory
that brings pain and misery.
For the feeling of being alone
is as gloomy as a lonely stone;
A ghost that lives in isolation
waiting for redemption.
*The worst feeling is having no real one to tell what you feel, for even the wind could be a fierce judge.*
January 9, 2023
Tatters Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Mystic Rose Rose
I’m a clown part- time for children’s parties.
I laugh because for my job. that matters.
What kind of clown would I be to show my tears?
I cry inside because my heart is in tatters.
I had a wife who loved me very much.
We had a child born of our love so true!
His face was fair; his hair was honey-colored.
And always laughter twinkled in his eyes of blue.
One day my wife was bringing our son home
when out of nowhere came a horrid man
who reeked of liquor as so recklessly
he crashed into my dear ones with his van.
My only comfort is their death was swift,
for instantly they died that fateful day.
Two years have passed, and still I cry myself
to sleep each night. The pain won’t go away.
I paint a smile on my face for parties,
but now there’s nothing in my life that matters
because this lonely heart of mine’s been shattered,
and so the name I go by now is Tatters!
Jan. 9, 2023 N/A
Submitted 1/14/2023 for 'BRIAN STRAND CONTEST NO 1170' Poetry Contest
They laugh at his theatrics,
The troubled is eased of every worry,
The sad wears a smile,
The angry forgets every hurt.
He puts aside his troubles to do his work,
He cloaks his hurts and entertains people,
He's on the stage for others,
No one is on the stage for him.
He’s off duty for a season,
He’s off the spotlight for a while,
He comes back on stage,
He’s applauded and cheered,
No one asks where he has been.
Behind the mask is one
who has had bouts of depression,
Behind the costume is one
who has fallen off the cliff umpteen times,
Wounded but duty-bound,
Anguished but entertaining found.
January 7, 2022.
Tatters Poetry Contest,
Mystic Rose Rose.
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 tricks that once brought smiles.
Laughs followed my outlandish, well-staged falls.
Kids who adored me once are terrified.
They’ve been exposed to movies that portray
us clowns as wickedness personified.
I’m grieved by tales that keep the kids away.
I can’t compete with kids’ hand-held devices.
The few times I’ve performed in recent years,
it’s been painfully clear that what entices
the young is phones and games. I earn no cheers.
Add to the kids that fear me and the ones
that won’t watch me and can’t put down their phones—
the ones whose parents favor spending tons
of dough on birthday trips; some take out loans!
My life is now bereft of much that matters
to clowns. My very being lies in tatters.
January 6, 2023
Tatters Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mystic Rose Rose
Oh, but I am just a man
an entertainer
a man of the people
I have bubble gum at the bottom of my shoes
and yes, the children cry
I know they think I'm scary
even when I try and give them a surprise
and I see the parent's faces defeated
they wanted to do something kind
as do I
In my sadness, I will glare
at myself
at the floor
at the never-ending winding stares
But, I am a man of the people
and my goal I want
is to be hated now
but loved in their memories
I am a man of the people
I am clown
I have been battered
Though I am not tattered
They will never see my smile upside down
Defeated now frowned, he seeks the sound of laughter.
Head hung down, blue eyes search for the sound he is after.
False Expressions of joy choose to paint his face.
Shoes 4 sizes too big, clothes of cotton and lace.
A Towering striped tent, of spent seats and empty rows.
Smells of cotton candy and peanuts once peppered your nose.
A shadow remains of the ring once entertained.
By accident acts of performers and beasts they had trained.
Endlessly Juggling sorrow, happiness starts to shatter.
Leaving this struggling clown alone and in tatters.
Life bedraggled.
Clown mask in tatters.
What matters, shattered
into a myriad
of jumbled pieces.
Nowhere to hide
when you can't
make a laugh
anymore.
Entropy is funny that way.
No one noticed his eyes
Sad and out of place
That's not what they paid to see
His pain he could not show
So he painted around his fears!
In order to deceive
His eyes concealed behind
A hug red nose,
It rained cats and dogs
His life now in tatters
His heart tied in knots!
His smile painted on
Holding his trembling lips
As his knees began to buckle
They clapped and clapped
He was a delusional clown
As I was his partner, who only knew that!
6.1.23
I drew this sad pencil drawing when I was feeling down
It's the way I picture myself, the vision of a gloomy clown
Messy hair, bulbous nose, my mouth sketched in a frown
My tears on the verge of spilling. In them I wish I'd drown
Baggy suit, ruffled neck, a disguise I'll wear until it tatters
She doesn't care about me. It's only her life that matters
This costume hides my broken heart, in pieces it scatters
but my eyes reveal the sorrow I feel as my hope shatters
This is the dismal face of the man after words of rejection
I've been fooling myself to think she felt ardent affection
I'm lost and feeling all alone, without a sense of direction
A wretched clown is what I see, mirrored in my reflection
January 6, 2023
Tatters Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Mystic Rose Rose
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
Tatters the clown had brought joy to so many;
But of intense personal joys, he had not any.
Hard luck trailed him, as it sometimes will do,
As dark clouds chase the sun, in skies of blue.
He faced various losses, that made him weep,
Deaths and monetary, by getting in too deep!
Children laughed gaily, to see Tatters coming,
As blooms in silver moonlight, most becoming!
After the joy of his giving, he's left this world,
And now brings smiles to heaven, white pearls.
His luck has since changed, he is happy at last,
In the way one is, after smiles have amassed.
Written on 1/5/2023
For: TATTERS Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mystic Rose Rose
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