Harlequin

• Brian Callaghan
• Poetry
• 2010

1. Mr. Sunshine

A heart of lead
Lined with gold
Poison surrounded by purity
A devil's head
On an angel's body
Evil above good
A sea of red
In an ocean of blue
Surrounded by normality
The walking dead
Among the living
Escaping conformity

A knife in the back
When alone in a room
Question touch
A flood of black
Every sunrise
Question sight
A rundown shack
In the core of the palace
Question reality
Patience about to crack
While eternity awaits
Question time

2. Carnival

We all play our part
From end to start
Everyone sings the chorus
The words laid down before us
Only a few can do the dance
Around the stage in circles we prance
With everyone living a charade
This puppet show begins to fade

The circus brings a new crowd
Sort of deranged and falsly proud
All of us fear the clown
Dreading him coming to town
The children who can't hide, try to
Regardless, the clown will find you
Everybody avoids him, suspicious
Suspecting his intent malicious

They always say to kill such clowns
Insane with a sick twisted head
What those men don't already know
This clown has long been dead

12 years ago, no body found
And yet this clown is still around
Nightmares haunt kids around this place
Awakening to meet his face