Here’s my first attempt at an amateur still-picture video poem. I had a lot of fun making it. And yes, it’s okay if you laugh. Just don’t clown too much….

Clownin’

“I’m not gonna say it again,” I’m sayin’,
Hopin’ he gets the way in
Which I’m pacin’ and swayin’
To the beat of anxiety.
Does he see the trap I’m layin’?

Oh well. I invited him here for a reason:
To expose unforgivable treason.
It’s me he’s been demeanin’
Beatin’ up,
Schemin’ against, deceivin’.

“Ooooh, I’m so afraid of the clown,” he’s replyin’,
But in those words there’s no denyin’
All the tongue-tyin’ and lyin’
He’s done. But I don’t care none.
Adrenaline’s got me flyin’.

I step forward, menacin’,
eyeball his chick like tender venison.
“Stop, or I’m gonna bash your fuckin’ heads in.”
The incessant voices return;
I ain’t right, been off my meds again.

My bully starts guffawin’,
Meaty hands pawin’
At his girlfriend, who’s jabber-jawin’
On the phone
She be steady palmin’.

He thinks I’m fuckin’ clownin’!
My head is drownin’,
Temples poundin’.
Can’t really see shit
In our dark, dark surroundin’s.

The madness envelopes, flowin’,
And my fingers, they be knowin’
The images I been sowin’.
Night vision heeds my will.
No turnin’ back, go all in.

I reach into darkness, grabbin’,
Tremblin’ fingers snaggin’
A wooden handle. I step forward, draggin’
The head of the sledgehammer on the ground.
I heft it up, doubts no longer naggin’.

I see the cruelty he been feignin’
And reignin’ in
Scatter, replaced by sane again.No help for him
now, I think,
Crossin’ the space and then

I swing the sledgehammer, no tamin’
The anger inside me, flamin’
Hot coals of shame and
Unwashed insecurities.
It’s time to get to maimin’.

I aim at his scared face, bash in
His skull; body crashin’.
Across his chick’s face fear be flashin’.
My wide red lips widen. They must notta known
I’m ‘bout that horror fashion.

She squeals, drops to knees, and then
I swing again, catch her cranium.
The alleyway’s covered in lame brain again,
Lookin’ like a bundle
Of glistening strawberry geraniums.

But I ain’t done. Temper’s flarin’.
I loom above him, swearin’,
Cold killer gaze a-glarin’.
I shoulda took my damn medicine.
Fuck it, can’t stand here starin’.

I feel like I’m implodin’;
Before I know it, my swing’s reloadin’.
Hammer falls, brain matter explodin’
Like a smashed watermelon
Leakin’ juicy, seedless corrosion.

A few more blows and I’m reelin’
From all these euphoric feelin’s,
Turned on by all the glorious bleedin’.
I got my revenge, justice.
Mind buzzin’, I turn, wheelin’,

No more time to monkey around. In
Seconds, I’m sprintin’ and boundin’
Down the alleyway, no longer frownin’.
Maybe I play the part at my job,
But I sure as fuck ain’t clownin’.