Live It Up!

It was a warm and sunny afternoon

When the paddlewheel churned by.

I yelled “hello!” from the craggy shore

Beneath the cloudless sky.

As I sat upon my steamer trunk

And opened up my sack,

I drew out a ripe banana

To savor as a snack.

I found myself in this strange place

After leaving my hometown

To at last begin my childhood dream

To become a circus clown.

I carried a box of memories

Held together with a shoelace,

And traveled down this old dirt road

With a smile on my aging face.

Until the day I ran away

I’d lived a life of rules

But decided that it’s now my turn

And joined this troupe of fools.

There are those who think I’m crazy

And ought to act my age.

To them I say I’m happy now!

I’m on a different page.

I no longer heed a morning bell

And sleep upright in the shower.

No more screaming to the freeway

To sit in traffic for an hour.

My future’s so much brighter now

With greasepaint on my face,

A flashing nose and floppy shoes

Have filled the empty space.

The sound of people laughing

Is magic to my soul.

Replacing endless worry

That began to take its toll.

So if you feel your life is empty

Except for childhood dreams,

I hope you’ll do as I did

And see what living really means!

(Banana, paddlewheel, shoelace, trunk, clown)