The stage is set, the drum-roll rolls,

Onto the stage a sad clown strolls,

Laughing, laughing to the end…

Foot-lights shine, he kneels on the stage,

- The whole wide world is one big cage -

Let us just cry, why pretend?

A “peace-flower” offered from the heart

And a “rasping sound” that isn’t smart…

Laughing, laughing to the end…

Audience roars, this joke is great,

Everybody appreciate

Being crude is now the trend.

The show is great; the show is grand,

These jokes easy to understand,

Laughing, laughing to the end…

They just can’t see, they would not try,

Perceiving why a clown would cry,

…Crying inward to the end…

© P. J. Oszmann (2002)

© Illustration: Etching and Mezzotint, Intaglio Print on Heavy Art Paper 490x310 mm, (Artist’s Proof1966)

Digital photograph of print reduced & touched up in Photoshop (2004)