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CIRCUS CLOWNS

*Gasp.*

Squeak…          Squeak…          Squeak…

Stomp.           Stomp.           Stomp.

Striiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.          Striiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.

Hello!

*run away*

*Gasp.*

Squeak…          Squeak…          Squeak…

Stomp.           Stomp.           Stomp.

Striiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.          Striiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.

Hello!

*run away*

*Gasp.*

Hello!

Squeak…          Squeak…          Squeak…

Hello!!

Stomp.           Stomp.           Stomp.

Hello!!!

Striiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.          Striiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.

Hello!!!!

My dear, my dear, are you happy here?
the pop. pop. POP!
of bloating balloons.
the hop. hop. HOP!
of bouncing baboons.
pop. POP!
hop. HOP!
poppity. hoppity
popping hopping
pop
hop
Drop.
tear
tear tear
tear tear tear
tear tear tear tear
tear tear tear tear tear
tear tear tear tear tear tear
tear tear tear tear tear tear tear
tear tear tear tear tear tear
tear tear tear tear
tear

My dear, my dear, why shed a tear?
the lub dub. LUB DUB!
of a hankering heart.
the oooooo’s and AAAAAAAA’s!
of astounding art.
lub dub. LUB DUB!
Ooooooo. AAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Lub Dub
Lubby Dubby
Oooohhhh… Ahhhhhh…
Lovey Dovey
OH!
AGHHHHHH!

My dear, my dear, do you have a fear?
the screeeeeeeeech. SCREEEEECH!
of a hooting harrier
the ………………………. loneliness
of an emotional barrier
Screeeeech. SCREEEEEECH!
…………………………..
Screech! Reach!
…………REEEAAACH!!!


 


This poem was inspired from a performance that I saw in Red Deer during the AHSDFA 2019 Provincial One Act Festival. Strathcona High School, from Zone 8, brought with them the play Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread by David Ives. It’s an absurdist piece that has very limited dialogue, so the actors must fill the air with entertaining action. The actors were successful in channeling their inner clown. Their level of commitment was incredible. They were truly inspirational. My poem is based on the idea of action more than dialogue. In an attempt to channel my own inner clown, I tried to write about CLOWNS. The opening onomatopoeia is the extreme action and the overall dialogue is wacky. It was my hope that the sound effects would have been able to make up for the silence that would otherwise be extremely difficult to portray.

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