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---
title: Joke
genre: prose
project:
title: "Buildings out of air: Paul in the Woods"
css: paul
order: 33
next:
- title: Stump
link: stump
- title: Leaf
link: leaf
previous:
- title: Punch
link: punch
- title: Hymnal
link: hymnal
...
He wrote _**JOKES**_ on the top of a page in his notebook. He had run out of
notecards and hadn't been able to convince his mother to go to the Office
Supply Store for him. He left a space underneath it and wrote.
_"Tell us a joke" the listeners say to the clown. They have gather together
in the clearing because they have heard he would be there, and they have heard
he knew very funny jokes that were also true. "Tell us a joke that is true"
they say._
_The clown does not move from the stump. He doesn't move at all. The
listeners watch, gap-mouthed, as a butterfly lands on his hat. A breeze
ruffles his coat and the butterfly flies away. Hours pass. The listeners
grow impatient. Some begin yelling insults at the clown. Eventually, they
begin to walk away into the woods._
_The moon rises on the clearing. The only people left are the clown and a
listener, the last listener. She has been waiting for the joke a long time.
The clown opens his mouth and she leans in closer to hear. He closes it as a
tear falls onto his coat, then another. He opens his mouth again in a sob.
The listener walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder._
_"I'm sorry" says the clown. "Sorry for what" she asks. "I don't know. I
don't know any jokes." He disappears. The last listener sits on the log and
looks at the sky. There are no stars._
|
