This blog is written by Shel Silverstein who was a well-known poet because of his "tongue-in-check" humour.
Cloony The Clown
I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried.
Thoughts on this poem:
The irony in the poem really happens in our daily life frequently. Sometimes when I feel depressed, people may think I am emo-ing, trying to get others attentions, then they will take it as a lame joke. And sometimes I feel sympathy for something, people may think that it is humorous. But most of the times I cannot do anything about these things so that I will not be the person who people think is an idiot just because most of the people have the same idea but differ from mine.
Furthermore, when I am poor at something but I am forced to do so, it can also ruin my reputation because people think that I am stupid. People always have an opinion: When most of the people are good at something, then supposedly others need to also be good at it too. Why? Because if so many persons can do it well, why the others cannot? If there is so many people good at it, then it must be extremely easy so the people who cannot do it well are reckoned as dumb.
In this poem, Cloony was a clown and he had to have funny actions and reactions all the time because this was his job. But when he was not good at it and he could not change his job so easily, he was stressed. He had to face the reality that people insulted him either directly or indirectly because he could not perform his profession well. Just like me, for example, I was chosen as a leader in a particular subject, and I did not do well. What people might think? They will comment me negatively and condemn me and grumbled at me and complained me and ...... There is no need to say about the end of me.
Well, from this poem, I learn that we must think on others' side and know what do they want, how do them feel, what are the stresses they will face, and more. That's why some people can have such excellent interrelationship between each other. Hence, if we want to make more friend, we need to have such virtue that can be learned in this poem which was the reason I liked this poem.
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