“Full Page Ad”
Face paint nor fun props make not prone
The one sunny, funniest clown,
But she who bemoans she’s alone
Whom no one wants to be around.
Come see the highlight of the saddest circus in town!
It was around 2005 that I composed this poem. I can’t tell you my exact thought process when I wrote this piece. However, in rereading ‘Full Page Ad’ this past weekend, I recalled that composing the poem stemmed from the emotion of making a fool of oneself — a ‘clown’ of oneself — while experiencing emotions that’s universal and private e.g. loneliness and starving for companionship.
Loneliness is not a laughing matter, but at the same time, for me to admit it, to be vulnerable about having this emotion especially on a public platform is akin to making myself look like a fool. Hence, this poem.
Sometimes it’s okay to just wear the red nose.
And in any case, sometimes a poem is just that — a poem.
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Teresa Sargeant is an award-winning journalist and author. She released her first collection of short stories “Inner Demons” in October 2020. She is the author of the short story ebooks “Eve the First,” “For My Sister,” and “Sammy’s Butterflies” “A Symphony of Silence” is her second poetry collection. Her latest short story “Healing” is published on Short Fiction Break.