Joker Choker
Laugh out loud but pain is silent.
Lol doesn’t describe it.
A mask to wear, a burden to bear, a wound so deep you can easily hide it.
A cut so fine, it looks like it never broke skin.
Like a caged animal the roar is concealed and held within.
Flexing cheek muscles to crack a smile, but the crack cracks cracks and it will eventually break.
Clinging desperately together for everyone elses sake.
For despair is contagious so you contain it.
Disguise it with humour to hide the fire you just lit.
But fire spreads and cannot be controlled.
So your mask soon melts and the truth unfolds.
The paint on your face begins to wipe away.
So that false smile starts to decay.
You struggle to breath like a heavy smoker.
This is the pain and life… of the depressed Joker.
By Lee Costello