My Wildest Card #
Dwell in me oh Joyous Joker
Poke fun at my pomp
Tap dance on the cracks of my character
Show me my insecurities and cackle away as I crumble
Though I rejoice at times
Though I anguish at times
I’ll join you later as I look back and say
Twas a good game after all
Inspiration Revealed #
My muses inspire me when I write.
Your muses inspire you when you read.
Below I choose to disclose the inspirations and interpretations of my own poems.
Maybe our muses told us some of the same things. Read on below if you really want to find out.
Inspiration #
There is much to say and relate to this post that I must try my best to condense it all and maybe wrap a little humor into it if possible.
The general archetype of the Joker is a person that embodies humor. We’ve all seen this in our classrooms, or our meetings at work, when someone will loosen the vibe with a good pirate joke.
At times, this humor makes an appearance at inappropriate times, or it may touch upon inappropriate or sensitive subjects. Yet, that is the essence of the Joker, the Jester, the Fool! They make fun of even that which shouldn’t be made fun of.
In medieval times these jesters would be employed in royal courts as advisors. Monarchs with enough wealth would use them for the purpose of entertaining their guests during festivities. The role evolved such that it required highly skilled practitioners especially because it could arise that they would have to deliver bad news to their king or employer in a skillfully artful way.1
Though the Jester has officially died out as a post in kingly courts the archetype now remains and along with it there is something called the Jester’s privilege. 2
Jester’s privilege prevents the jester from being punished for what they say. The historical representations to symbolize this privilege were the crown of bells and the scepter that the Jester carried. These were parallels to the king’s crown and scepter and showed the jester to be of equal status and protection as the king.
Now you’ll be able to peer further into the inspiration for this piece. It’s the ever taunting jester that makes fun of things that we are most insecure about. Even when we are at our lowest points. And what should we do? Cower? Or acknowledge the joker and address what it is saying to us?
We all have a bit of a Joker inside us and I’m keen to give mine a stronger voice and let its spirit out to guide. If I do, I’ll grow as a person and address what I can within myself that needs attention and then possibly also make my life better in the process.
I wrote this verse at a time when I myself was going through an anguish that I had not yet had the immense displeasure of experiencing before. An anguish that I have trouble finding an equal for the in the past that came before it.
Somehow, in my worst moments I seem to remember the Jester of life that pokes fun at us at the most inopportune times. It laughs at us and invites us to laugh along with it even though we might be far from a place where laughter can gurgle.
Even if I can’t laugh at myself in the moment, my hope is to move forward into a future where I can finally smile and laugh at how seriously I was taking it all.
If that’s not possible, I hope that the greatest Jester of them all will be able to crack me up with one last joke just before my time comes.