The Clown Motel - Richard Gordon Zyne

poem read by Timothy Arliss OBrien

The Clown Motel
Richard Gordon Zyne

The Clown Motel

where life's a joke  

and the laughter’s canned but real enough.  

In the Bozo Suite, they make you feel at home  

a red nose on your pillow  

soft rubber to rest your weary head.

A basket of fresh banana peels  

a gesture of good humor  

slapstick luxury.  

And a pitcher of seltzer  

fizzing like a cheap laugh  

inviting you to spray the walls  

with the joy of absurdity.

Here the bed’s a tightrope  

the floor a circus ring  

and sleep’s a balancing act  

between dreams and the ridiculous.  

You check in to escape the world  

and find yourself in a different kind of madness.

The night wears a painted grin  

and you under the neon clown sign  

feel the pull of the surreal.  

A honk a giggle an endless parade  

where the joke’s on everyone  

and nobody really minds.