THE ENTERTAINER

Andy Hunter 1957 (Margate)



Up on stage the worlds his own
He gives the crowd a spellbinding show
Leaves the stage to rapturous applause
And always leaves them wanting more

But as the curtain falls and the lights are dimmed
The demons inside him begin to set in.
His doubts and fears eat into his skin
As the walls around him begin to close in.

Frustrated his life's forever on show
He just wants to hide but goes with the flow
Persuaded by all that the show must go on
Feels he's falling apart and everything's wrong

He wonders how long he can disguise
The feelings inside - he tries hard to hide
So, he laughs and jokespaints on a face
And leaves no room for thinking space

Convinced he's fake and his act is stale
He craves to escape, believing he’s failed.
For him the sweet smell of success has turned rancid
And his questions “what if” remains unanswered

The deadly solitude after the show
Eats into his brain as he drives slowly home
He cannot think straight as his minds in a spin
Paranoia and self-loathing begin to set in.

He opens another bottle - his mood is still sinking
And swallows some sleeping pills - to help him stop thinking
I guess he just wanted to bury it all
But has tragically performed his last curtain call.

About this poem

Reflection of the untimely passing of some of our greatest entertainers. Robin Williams featured in my mind as I was writing this rhyme.

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Submitted by AndyH on August 19, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:12 min read
4

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXX XBBB AAXX XXCC XXXX AXBB DDEE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,224
Words 238
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

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    "THE ENTERTAINER" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/134518/the-entertainer>.

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