For A Jester Poem by Jonathan Alford

A man stumbles in from the heat of a winter.
A spirit to quell his own glistening like ocean-light
Spills from a bloody lower lip
In remembrance of a lover’s taste.
A frantic hat misses a niche
And a timid coat hangs in the air,
Arms open wanting its lover.
Somewhere there is the voice of a woman,
She laughs like she had laughed for him-
Children in the yard with eyes like stars
Burning bright and crashing gazes.
She stages it now like a famous actress we idolized,
Impromptu tragedy taught her how to act-
He is a desperate jester in her court
And she will laugh so he can think he’s got it right.
Into their bedroom he stalks and stares upon her face.
With a comfortably bored voice she giggles at his pursuit.
Through tears he screams an expression of wanton comprehension.
A wasted battle followed by a hollow shout and a beauteous cascade of color.
A key falls to the floor to a door she had never known existed.