INCOGNITO
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Take off your mask you warn out clown..... with painted frown
Your world is turning ....upside down
Your smile is but a brush line deep
Those star crossed eyes, that spark with glitter
Long to weep..... the tears of years
Of hollow fun, the jokes are stale
The antics done to death,
Oh!.....what a bore,

Thrown to the crowds behind a satin vest, no time to rest
Your sawdust ring has lost its zest
Your act now weary, humour merely,
Slap-stick and sequined cloth.
A never ending circle of (dis)illusions
Where only the tricks have simple solutions
Nerves like the tight wire, stretched and strained,
Raw to the bones, withered and drained,

Fading now the golden trumpet’s opening blasts
And those faint drum rolls of the past.
It’s hard to hear the welcome cheer
The gasp of in drawn breath.
The canvas cone is but a fragile dome
Blown by the winds of in consequence
Torn, temporary frame contains your name,
Within its roped circumference,
A forgotten entity, just a curtain from reality,
That’s all you’ll be, just a clown from the past,
Painted smile, shining vest, so let’s pack up the show,
Cut the lights, curtains close........just.......... go!
Sheila Collinge
1976