Poetry Challenge #169-Weary Willie Day

It’s not what you think…Weary Willie was a circus clown persona created by Emmett Kelly. He based the character on hobos of the Great Depression. Kelly’s Weary Willie was part of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and was at one time the country’s most recognizable clown. He’s the clown known for ceremonially spread his handkerchief on the ground beneath the trapeze just before the daring Flying Wallenda’s performed, so if one of them missed a catch, they’d land in his hankie.

Ralph Emerson snapped a photo of Willie, bucket in hand, racing to the fire, which appeared in the July 17, 1944 issue of Life Magazine

Known as he was for clowning around, Emmett Kelly/Weary Willie was also a hero. When the Big Top caught fire on July 6 1944, the bandleader cued up “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” circus code for TROUBLE!

The afternoon of what’s known as the “Hartford Circus Fire,” there were about 7,000 people in attendance.*  In spite of his oversized floppy boots and flapping tails, Weary Willie came running.

Exactly how one is supposed to celebrate Weary Willie Day is unclear. Wear some big shoes? Act like a goof? Grab a bunch of friends and pile into a tiny car? Or better, clown around with words:

Poetry Challenge #169

White make-up and ruff collar were the norm until Weary Willie hit the Big Top

Weary Willie Day

In memory of Weary Willie create a Found Poem from this post. A Found Poem uses words or phrases from already existing work to create a poem.

For this prompt, jot words or phrases from the passage above that grab your attention. Then shape those words and phrases into a poem. Whether you rearrange them or use them in the order they appear is up to you. And, as Weary Willie tried to do for audiences, see if you can add some levity to this rather somber account.

Or, if create a poem by clowning around with the words: circus, trapeze, bucket, and “a duck maybe somebody’s mother.”

Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes

Start Writing

Don’t Think Too Much About it; just do it!

*“The show was twenty minutes in when the flames started near the entrance to the big top. The Great Wallendas were beginning a high-wire performance. For waterproofing purposes, the tent’s canvas had been coated in paraffin and gasoline. The flames spread across the top quickly . . . panic followed: crowds surging toward small passageways, pieces of flaming canvas falling on people, horrific screams. Some broke ankles jumping from bleachers. There is a story of a woman who spent the rest of her life toting a pocketknife because a man pulled his out and cut a hole in the canvas to help people escape. The comedian Charles Nelson Reilly was thirteen and in attendance, and one story claims he avoided sitting in audiences for the rest of his life. The whole thing is said to have lasted fewer than ten minutes…. once he heard the screams of “Fire!” Kelly is known to have acted quickly.

More about Weary Willie: “Tears of a Clown”

And, always, a song: Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge about 1700 days ago! (without a miss!!!) We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you (This one is Cindy’s.) If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.

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