PRAYER OF A SHRINE CLOWN

Wonderful Lord,

You have blessed me in this calling

When you made me a Shrine clown.

You provided me the means and

Talents to serve you -

Red nose and all.

You have surrounded me with a brotherhood

That supports and cares for me

As we travel this road together -

Big shoes and all.

Please never let my life get so busy

That I don’t make time to fulfill this important role.

Let me always remember that I serve YOU -

Baggy pants and all.

And when the make-up feels like a restrictive dressing

Or the nose a cumbersome prosthetic,

Please help me always remember

As THEY pray for distraction, as THEY pray for relief

Let me be YOUR instrument to meet THEIR needs -

Red nose and all.

Anissa Cantin ’06

PRAYER OF A SHRINE CHILD

Thank you God for the Shrine clown

He makes me laugh when I feel down

He makes magic instead of pain

He makes sunshine out of rain

In my heart I really know

To a real job this man must go

A lawyer, a plumber or an engineer

But he gets no pay for coming here

I wonder if his shoes weigh a lot

Or if, like my burns, they get hot

I wonder why he even cares

To visit me in my rolling chair

I’m not sure what brought him here

Other than to bring me cheer

As he leaves I think I see

A tear in his eye, is that for me?

God let him know I think he’s great

His visits I appreciate

The time he spends next to my bed

Is the time when sad things leave my head.

Thank you God

Anissa Cantin ’06

Revision Account

The Story Behind The Shrine Clown Poems

I began working on “Prayer of a Shrine Clown” about a month before we started this creative writing class. By “working on” I mean that I had this idea in the back of my head to write a poem dedicated to these wonderful volunteers, frame it with a photo, and give it as a gift to a friend of mine who is in fact a Shrine clown. I started by reading as many poems of a tribute type of nature that I could find. I search the library, the World Wide Web and had a couple of friends sending me works too.

One friend did in fact send me a poem that was styled as a clown’s prayer. I loved the idea of making it a prayer and then ran with that idea. As I spent hours thinking about what I wanted this thing to say, I decided that I had three meanings or ideas that I wanted to produce with this poem. First, I wanted to express my admiration for those men who give so much to be a Shriner in general and Shrine clowns specifically. Second, I wanted to let the world see a bit of what is in their hearts when they do spend time and money to be part of what I consider a ministry of God. Finally, I want this poem to serve as a reminder to the Shrine clowns of the true meaning behind their service, the kids. I wanted them to know that even though it may be a heart wrenching and sometimes even inconvenient role to fulfill, it is so very worth their efforts as it means so much to the kids when they visit.

So, I kept putting off writing the poem. More often than not, that seems to be my creative downfall. The Food Network can distract me very quickly, and I will never put a pen to paper or turn on the computer. This class was just what I needed. When I first tried to sign up for it, it was full. So I kept checking until someone dropped and a space opened, and I was enrolled. So, with the desire to maintain some sort of a decent GPA, I finally wrote down my thoughts about the Shrine clowns.

I went through about three drafts before I submitted the one for the class assignment. My poor husband had to endure hearing them all but, thanks to the computer age, I typed over the other versions and they exist no more. I was satisfied with the poem as far as within my own reading but I was scared beyond description at turning it over to the class. I felt like I was not a very mature poet and that I was going to be raked over the coals. I guess that is why I volunteered to go early on in class. I wanted plenty of revision time.

To my amazement, I survived the class presentation. No one even crumpled up the paper and threw it at me in disgust. I came away with notes a plenty on my copy of the poem and three other copies that classmates wrote on as well. These were very helpful in the revision and the actual presentation was a bit of a blur to me due to nerves.

I made a few changes that the class suggested in the format and wording of the poem. I struggled with adding an additional stanza as was suggested. The thought behind the suggestion, as I understood it, was to give more of the child’s point of view. This did not seem to fit into the prayer a Shrine clown would be thinking so; I opted to go with suggestion number two instead. That suggestion was to write a second poem, and that is the “Prayer Of A Shrine Child” that is being submitted with the paper. It is my hope that this additional piece will tell the reader a bit more about the man behind the makeup and why they do what they do for the kids.

I would like to have feedback on my second poem and the revisions of the first one. I feel pretty good about them in their intent. However, as my plan is to have them printed and framed as a gift for my husband and our friend, I really want them to be right. I know not everyone that reads the final product will appreciate poetry, or my choices in punctuation, or the topic for that matter. In the end, if the members of the Shrine clowns can see that someone out there gets what they are doing and why, the rest would be just gravy.