Joker

By Stuti Kapoor

Hi! I am a Joker

but now I am taken as a poker.

My face is painted with alluring colour

while my life looks parallelly duller.

I wear brightly coloured cap

yet all colours to me are a scrap.

I have red in my clothes

still no love ever approaches.

The yellow in my dress spreads the essence of friendship

though I myself have no hand to grip.

I wear green to help you alleviate anxiety

for which I perform with utmost propriety.

I have a life beyond

penniless to which it correspond.

My face puts on a broad grin

with my tears residing within.

Concerning customers, retail stores be my workplace

though indoors I have no space.

I stand as a source of entertainment

yet I am occupied by enslavement.

I gather attention at birthday party

where afterwards I am memorized hardly.

The makeup on my face hides all my identity

also because no one wants to know that entity.

I return home with aching heart

with eyes open to thoughts of a blissful art.

My pocket is always empty

and I even can't afford to envy.

Sometimes my performance is word of mouth

but my living still stands drouth.

I have a hidden face

which even I don't want to showcase.

I hammer away everyday

still my family sleep in dismay.

I have the same eyes, nose, ears

all I lack is destiny cheers.

Waking up to more dawns

I yearn my worries are gone.

Admitting this as the purpose of life

I will keep smiling excluding strife.

All I need to convey is -

I am a Joker not a joke,

I am born to love not to croak.

By Stuti Kapoor