Crystal Carousel

The clown walked home in the falling rain
One last trick to end the pain
One less clown to bother you
Like a toothache, or a wooden shoe

A prayer from the skies high above
That he might find the ways of love
A simple clown of many tricks
Bringing laughter, joy, and merriment

To the children of the fair
Who stop to watch and always stare
At the handkerchief with nothing inside
Except a daisy, hidden; surprise!

Their eyes turn wide and brim with tears
The ones which bounce off the clown's wet ears
Turning corners in the street
He knew that he would one day meet

A princess who could heal the pain
Dripping, in the falling rain
Remembering the gallery
Where she was perfectly aligned
With other muses of her kind

Thank the Gods, he wasn't blind
Or deaf or mute or so inclined
To pass up opportunities
That passed before him on the street
Where raindrops falling all around
Made the gentlest sound

His princess had gone away
To the end of yonder days
To the end where nothing lasts

He had no purpose anymore
For magic tricks had lost their flare
But still the children would stop and stare
And they might miss his crimson hair

And button nose and rubber gloves
Those children like the purest doves
Flying to the magic airs above
To the future so inspired to survive

He realized that he was alive

Life's a crystal carousel of light
But cannot be seen, in darkest night

And Heaven settles everything
When others cannot bear to bring
To light the stories that they share
Of button nose and crimson hair

We are all clowns in our own way
And must survive another day
So, Harry Wrigley changed his course
And filled his cup not with remorse
But with the promise of the dawn
And everything that went along

He stayed to watch the rain subside
And laughter filled his sparkling eyes