Elegy for a Clown<\/p>\n
SANDPOINT –\u201cThe Idaho State Police are investigating an apparent suicide that occurred in the Bonner County jail Tuesday, September 27. Jeremy, 20, was found by detention staff.<\/em><\/p>\n Even at seven you were a natural Harpo, \u201cTeacher, Teacher, I did a trick today. A sweeping gesture of generosity, An innocent stooge, They found you duct-taped to a bed I tried to send face paint and books How the angels Little clown, I salute you. <\/p>\n “Elegy for a Clown” is reprinted from Stringtown.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Sandra Meade\u2019s poetry has been published in Stringtown<\/em> and Raven Chronicles,<\/em><\/a> and she recently received a Pushcart nomination for her poem \u201cElegy for a Clown.\u201d\u00a0 In 2012 she wrote and illustrated a children\u2019s book, \u201cCaty Beth Chooses.\u201d Originally from Montana, Sandra Meade received her B.A. in Education from the University of Montana where she studied under Richard Hugo.\u00a0 She currently resides in a handbuilt stone house in the piney woods near Newport, Washington with her husband Mike, where she was a public elementary school teacher for over two decades. She is founder and director of Scotia House,<\/a> a Pacific Northwest Spiritual Retreat, open to all faiths and traditions. She is a member of Spiritual Director\u2019s International and received her certification in spiritual direction from Gonzaga University in 2003.\u00a0 Her hobbies include gardening, hiking, fly-fishing, cross-country skiing, and playing the bodhran.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Elegy for a Clown SANDPOINT –\u201cThe Idaho State Police are investigating an apparent suicide that occurred in the Bonner County jail Tuesday, September 27. Jeremy, 20, was found by detention staff. Even at seven you were a natural Harpo, too … Continue reading
\ntoo loose clothes, big shoes
\nnothing ever really fit you,
\na fool too simple for reading
\nbut already a master of gesture.<\/p>\n
\nThey teased me at the bus and I did a trick.
\nand they laughed. Watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthe open hands
\nand expectant smile,
\nhead tipped sideways
\none shoe up,
\nthe grand bow.<\/p>\n
\npockets stuffed with cafeteria food.<\/p>\n
\nyour thin wrists wound motionless
\nto the rail. For endless days
\nyour biggest trick, the smile, taped shut.<\/p>\n
\nbut there was a wall
\nof institutional silence.
\nNow, at 20, your final trick:
\nhead oddly cocked on a rope,
\nhands hanging loose,
\na silent mime in the end.<\/p>\n
\nmust have gathered
\nwith their big red noses,
\nthe saltimbanques, the payasos-
\nbig shoes and soft bellies,
\nchoirs of buffoons.
\nHow their large hands must have lifted you,
\nrocked you with hilarious laughter.
\nSilly you, coming in with a cord at your belly
\nand leaving with one at your neck.<\/p>\n
\nMy own face colored by your news,
\nI lift the bubble wand and blow,
\nperfect globes
\nreflecting light
\nfloat in your direction.<\/p>\n