A clown sat in the seat next to me
in an afternoon cinema screening
of a film I didn’t catch the name of.
We were the only two people there.
His popcorn box was already empty
and a bottle of gin was his breath.
The white paint on his face showed
no skin and his melted red nose had
lost its honk. I said hello. And he said
goodbye. The film never started and
the cinema never opened that day.

© Carl Burkitt 2023