A man stumbles in from the heat of a winter. <br />A spirit to quell his own glistening like ocean-light <br />Spills from a bloody lower lip <br />In remembrance of a lover’s taste. <br />A frantic hat misses a niche <br />And a timid coat hangs in the air, <br />Arms open wanting its lover. <br />Somewhere there is the voice of a woman, <br />She laughs like she had laughed for him- <br />Children in the yard with eyes like stars <br />Burning bright and crashing gazes. <br />She stages it now like a famous actress we idolized, <br />Impromptu tragedy taught her how to act- <br />He is a desperate jester in her court <br />And she will laugh so he can think he’s got it right. <br />Into their bedroom he stalks and stares upon her face. <br />With a comfortably bored voice she giggles at his pursuit. <br />Through tears he screams an expression of wanton comprehension. <br />A wasted battle followed by a hollow shout and a beauteous cascade of color. <br />A key falls to the floor to a door she had never known existed.<br /><br />Jonathan Alford<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/for-a-jester/
