Enter Pierrot, Laughing Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

ENTER PIERROT, LAUGHING

dusk falls in sepia tones

as it always does in the vintage photographs

but pierrot is a complex subject even so

is he laughing or crying

will you ever know the pinwheel effusions of his summer epochs

his heart that sows white rosebuds

seen from the distance you are sure his smile is real

on closer inspection, what does he really feel

no daguerreotype will ever reveal

is it the sun after rain or the other way round

a hopscotch falling to the ground

a lamentarion of coloured chalks or in pastels

is he feeling very well

he's out for a walk in infinity

with the beau geste

and his silken shoes on the moon's crest

or a quaking wire…

what was it you aspired to



a long time ago I played La Polichinelle on the piano

no one would believe it now

how I paint in imagination, memory's gallery

his mauve bright tears

the small smile of redacted years

his penny bright forays…

perceptive angels, do what you must

guard his tremors, cherish his dust

I cannot find him.

mary angela douglas 1 april 2021; 2 april 2021; 23 june 2022; 24 august 2022