I'm Not A Clown Poem by Dennis Okyere Brako

You look at me as I appear down
The muddy waters of life has painted me brown
My face is puffy and my scruffy gown
A smile is alien! I can only frown
Don't mock me as I lay on the ground
Just understand that I'm not a clown

Crouched on the bench! You'll meet me at the park
Shabby on the streets, I'm behind the cart
Cold and alone I'm sprawled on the mat
Nowhere to go, I have to share the dark
The hatred in your gaze as you passed the back
A clown? I'm not! It's just a mark

I'm bent over the desk from rooster crow
Till the chicken roost when I mopped my brow
The goal, my focus! Never minding the role
My toil unrewarded, I drag my very sole
For God and country! There hangs my taunted goal
Ridicule? I'm sodden, they're my very clothes
A clown I'm painted! While I try to soar

They call me weird, of course they're right
For answering humanity's call! Yes it's a fight
Move with the flow? No! That isn't bright!
Shovel for myself? No! that's the nation's pie?
Greedily Succumb? No! You can't give me a bite
For the suffering masses are my soul's plight
Don't call me a clown! It's my soul's delight

The world will sneer whether up or down
To bury you like seed! They'll put you aground
To gracefully sprout, you've got to push the hard ground
You will be chastised for keeping what is sound
Look to God and let your hope abound
He'll guide your steps and take you around
So keep in mind, you are not a clown!