The Clown

A crowd was gathering beneath the tent –
The clown must keep them in a happy mood;
No matter if the jokes are rough and rude,
A circus is a place for merriment.
And one must be quick-minded and invent
New tricks and let no saddened thoughts intrude,
Nor let the public see him sigh or brood,
But banish care and seem indifferent.

There came a lull–I saw him lean awhile
Against a post and gaze with weary eyes,
As if he traveled backward many a mile. . .
And though his body wore a gay disguise,
For one brief space he played a tragic role–
There is no mask to hide a lonely soul.

 

Margaret E. Bruner