A Clowns Wish

 
I cavort around in over-sized shoes,
Stumble and fall for the hysterical all,
Give them my tear-streaked clowns face,
Making them laugh with glee and joy.

This broken-down heart inside of me,
Hopes the laughter is not a one-night stand,
If that would ever happen they would see,
These tears on my face were real all along.

My painted-on laughing face is a farce,
I can't laugh, but that doesn't mean you can't.
As the circus plays these backwater towns,
My aim is to bring laughter, never gloom.

My heart almost smiles when a young girl giggles,
And that freckle-faced, tousled-headed boy grins.
Hysterical laughter when I nail my shoe to the floor
Makes me want to keep going year after year.

Although I'm sad on the inside I like to spread joy,
It's such a small comfort to bring about cheer,
To know that for a moment life's troubles are gone,
It's all I need of life, to be the bringer of mirth.

I hope I'll never become an uncaring soul,
To not feel a glad inside as I humor a child.
Eyes bright and shiny with tears from my antics,
Clapping with happiness at my next belly-flop.

It isn't only the children who love my act,
Grandpa's and grandma's fall back to their childhood.
Even the old have some of the child within,
The gumless mouths sometimes laugh the hardest.

Never shall I fail to forget my mission in life,
Causing people to laugh, letting it all hang out.
The nasties of life is forgotten when the clown
Turn the fire hose on those crazy Keystone Cops.

When the Big Top comes down for the last time,
And my clowns face is removed by creams and lotions,
I'd like to be able to hear before I go,
You were a good clown old son; you have earned your rest.