Portrait

A colorful portrait
in a black and gold
frame hung starkly
against an egg shell
white wall

The eyes of the man
on the canvas magnetically
drew me in, and slowly I
walked closer to him

He was a man of years who
showed his time, with a
face unshaven for days

And despite his frown and
worn down look, he still had
a twinkle in his eyes

A black derby rested atop
his head, and a yellow scarf
surrounded his neck, while
it sprawled over one shoulder

His shirt was tattered cloth
garishly colored like an
artist’s rag, and his lips
were painted white

His twisted, bumpy nose
was bloody red, and
his cheeks bore a
greasepaint of green,
while charcoal streaks
filled the gap between
his cheekbones and eyes

I stood, as he hung, and
we stared at each other
in a silent stillness of
wonder

But I could not hold
my breath for long,
and when I let it
go, it fogged the
mirror into which
I looked, and the
sad clown went
away
__________________________________________________

Parabola

He was born on the outlying edge
of a parabola in a stark, steep
mountain range, where a snow
covered summit summoned him
to climb toward his dreams

A crawl became a toddle and
walked him to a jog, which soon
became a run to the mountain’s
peak

With his arms raised in victory
and his head amid the clouds, he
slipped on icy reality and was
carried on a toboggan gust of
wind to the base of the far side

Another summit summoned him,
and toward it he began to run. But
jogging soon outpaced him and
slowed him to a walk. Soon he
was hobbling, then dropping to
his knees, just before he fell

His journey ended on the outlying
edge of a parabola in a stark, steep
mountain range, where a melted snow
cap of tears schussed to him on skis
and washed away his dreams

*******
Eric Miller is a retired dentist who has laid down his drill for a
quill. His work appears or is forthcoming in Foundling Review, Poetry
Friends, Writers’ Bloc (Rutgers), Calliope Nerve, Flutter Poetry
Journal, Clockwise Cat, The Cynic Online Magazine, Troubadour 21, Word Catalyst, Short Humour, Word Slaw, Stories that Lift, Blink | Ink,
Boston Literary Magazine, The Storyteller, A Handful of Stones, The
Stray Branch, Bolts of Silk, Bartleby-Snopes, Oak Bend=2
0Review, tinfoildresses poetry journal, The Green Silk Journal, and Poets Against War (Canada).