You laugh at me
At my living hell
My painted tears
False portrayal
———
It is all an act
Just pretend
Behind the smile
All is well
——–
An illusion
Coloured by
Disappointment
Out of character
Ridiculous clown
——–
You admire me
At my fearless act
My loveless whip
Lion tamer
———
It is all by force
Not love
Behind the cage
Kept by fear
——–
Conversion
By conquest
Controlled
Through power
Fear tamer
——–
You adore me
High on the wire
One step at a time
High wire girl
——-
There is no room for error
I cannot slip
If I crash
Shattered dreams
——–
Dangerous
Reliant
On the net
To catch me
——–
Here is the crowd
In a dusty tent
Watching the show
All for your enjoyment
——–
You the spectator
Filled with excitement
Full of admiration
Anticipation
——–
Time to wake up.
———
Written for Poetry Jam
Life From A Park Bench 
its all by force, not by love….that line is enough for me…and is a hard reality…nice hard stop on the time to wake up in the end as well…it grabs the attention…
I have to go along with Brian. That was the line that took me by the collar. Impressive write.
I enjoyed this. You took the theme so many different places. And it does not seem to me like the ‘circus’ is a very happy place.
This is * amazing * poetry!!!
Thank you for your comments, i tried to capture the feeling that everything in life is hidden in masks and behind acts, we are often the unknowing spectators to others skilfully played out acts. Including my own! I found it all very challenging and soul searching.
It has become quite common to hide behind a smile, to hide behind good deeds and kind words when so many of us are actually burning inside.
Yes, so many things hidden behind the masks of life–and we even have masks we wear with ourselves. Watching performance does bring all that to mind.
i really like your interpretation of the prompt!
thank you for joining in at Poetry Jam!