Circus me a frown
clown in neon blue
with stripes
I see in my sleep
Oscillating, like a cyclone
like that time
after too many mango margaritas
in Cabo
Heave-ho
pirate clown
black and white
and stubbly beard
I hope he won’t hug me
scratches, Patches
and his scent
like bourbon on Santa’s breath
Now there’s a clown
asking if “mommy” would like to sit
on his lap too
Watery eyes, seen too many
bottoms
of glasses
And cigar smoke
fingering the suit
I make for
the other end of the sleigh
feeling a bit like sequins and legs
and hope for more
of stale popcorn
and less of
the inexplicable circus peanut
Copyright 2012 Jennifer Wagner
30 comments:
Oh wow, quite the different view of the clowns! I would not be a fan either! I guess they are best at a distance!
I agree here pretty much. O have seen the clowns at the Shrine Circus. I prefer them at a distance to up close. I don't those uniforms are laundered much. Anyone who goes around hiding himself I wonder what he has to hide.
bourbon on santas breath....ugh....well now is probably not a good time to tell you i was once a traveling clown....is it? smiles....people def sit on either side of the fence with clowns....some fun with rhyme and cadence in this....very nice write...
I enjoyed this - the way you set out the words worked very well, and caught me by surprise several times. I like the frown/clown too.
Whoa. Very strong poem. Well done. k.
(Can't help thinking of Sondheim - Send in the Clowns.) k.
Close up, the face of a clown is somewhat grotesque .. better to stand waaaaaaay back! I enjoyed your poem!!
Great take on the prompt! Can totally relate to the mango-margarita spinning and the creepy clown hitting on Mommy. Very well written poem, thanks so much for sharing this with us over at Poetry Jam!
Oh, now the clowns sound as sad as the bears! Good capture!
those are definitely some interesting clowns–a tad "IT"-ish. I guess Stephan king had to get his inspiration from somewhere.
Jennifer, I'm with you--keep those clowns away. :-) You created a story here (kinda flash fictiony), very well written.
They creep me out, what can I say? :) Thanks for coming by and commenting Peggy!
lol on the laundered uniforms...and I agree--distance is better. Thanks!
I won't hold it against you Brian :-) Thanks for commenting on the piece!
Glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks much!
I guess I did go a bit strong lol...thanks k!
A very stimulating write. Thoroughly enjoyable.
This is exactly how I feel about clowns! Excellent write.
Agreed! Thanks Helen, very much :)
lol Sherry...and those bears do look sad...
"IT"-ish...ha...they are even creepier now that you brought King into it :-)
We kind of went the same direction on this prompt, eh? I agree with yours...no circus for me :) Thanks Sara--as always, appreciate your words.
Thanks Dave, your thoughts on my writes are always encouraging to me.
Thanks MZ, I think we're not alone ha...and I love your profile pic btw.
Thanks for the awesome prompt Mary, I really did enjoy writing to it. And thanks for commenting on my piece :)
I have come across clowns similar to this which has caused me to become very leery around them. They are not all so grotesque though!
I think most of them are a touch creepy, just personal opinion...not so much grotesque, though I agree...thanks for popping by Dana.
Love your take on this - excellent write.
Anna :o]
Anna- glad you do, thank you!
i'm not a fan of the clowns or the circus either ~ wonderful take on the prompt!
thanks for joining in at Poetry Jam!
♥
Thanks Dani--really enjoyed your circus offering as well.
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