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. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FORGOTTEN TUNE by PAUL VERLAINE ON A CARRIER WHO DIED OF DRUNKENNESS by GEORGE GORDON BYRON SECOND BOOK OF AIRS: 7. THE MEASURE OF BEAUTY by THOMAS CAMPION MY YOUTH by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES POST-MORTEM by EMILY DICKINSON ALNWICK CASTLE by FITZ-GREENE HALLECK SONNET: 36 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE |