Carnival

by Beulah Field — a poem card from Justes Mots

The speaker reflects on hidden grief expressed through public actions—a rose given as tribute to past joy, a song masking internal struggle. The poem explores how life's careless beauty masks sorrow, and how acceptance of this duality brings peace. It serves emotional needs around processing loss and finding meaning in melancholy.

I gave a rose to a dancing girl,
She did not know
It was tribute I paid to a joy,
Dead long ago.

I sang my song in the market-place,
They did not hear
I was challenging love with a laugh,…

Themes: sympathy · grief · encouragement · reflection