Friday Is Poets Day As part of Holly’s 10-week Clown to Performance course in 2017 we each had a 5-minute slot to perform at the Wardrobe Theatre. The performance was improvised but in preparation we were charged with finding an inner clown part of ourselves and a game the clown wanted to play with the audience. Inspired by a trip to Cornwall and a meeting with a lighthouse, I found my Lighthouse clown who’s mission is to make friends and communicate with them.
(image credit Tom Farrant)
At first the lighthouse’s only language was Foghorn, but later they discovered their voice as a poet and wrote this poem.
Lighthouse I like being a lighthouse because I get to turnaround slowly in a circle (too fast and I might get dizzy) I get to have a torch I get to explore rock pools I get to paddle in my wellies I get to sea forage for barnacles and ocean weed I get to see gulls swoop and soar and screech dolphins dive, whales sing and play I get to feel the power of the storm buffeted by the gales the surge and fury of the waves the force of the rips and eddies watch the moon guide the neap tide I am elevated here, on rocky outcrops where everyone can see I stand out in the crowd different from everything else around me people make trips to see me especially and write stories and songs and have all sorts of billowy blustery thoughts which may or may not be true which may or may not really matter I get to shout my head off - really loud - WAH! and people say ‘Oh! Is that a foghorn?’ they’re not pissed off when I wail they think my voice eerie, mournful, romantic, atmospheric it reminds people that, way out here in the wilds, someone cares, someone is looking out for them their lives are important to someone all human lives are I am a symbol of optimism when the way is tricky a life buoy of hope in treacherous conditions casting rays out into the dark and briny deep I guide people, show them the way shine a light on safe passage I stand here proud to be me with my torch and my wellies my exceptional way of being and my singularly unique voice… Oh! I see we are all lighthouse here!
