Upon Hearing These Words the Queen Approached the Jester, Curtsied, and Allowed Him to Take Her Hand and Gently Kiss It

Love…
Free for the taking
And the better for the giving…
Ladies and gentlemen why do you sit here!?!
To give ear to the jester?
This is the season for love!
And perhaps
Perhaps
Perhaps
My audience thinks I know the way
Your fears I will allay
Today
I say
That love indeed is a quest,
Indeed the best,
And far more nobler than all the rest!
But what does a jester know of this love,
This indwelt treasure bestowed from above?
Dearest majesty grant a lone request
And I could bring a smile-
At least for a while
(Until you give voice to your heart
And inquire after its art
Wondering if I am maybe more than a face
Painted
Smiling
Playing a part)-
For that is the one favor I ask
That you smile, my lady
And you do so daily
Outlining a portrait of happiness
Nothing less.
Your dress!
It betrays feeling
Sending me reeling
My thoughts sealing
Their way inside of my heart and lifting it up to the sky
Whose paint is peeling,
A pale imitation of art,
Fading into nothing
Nothing
Nothing at all.
Dear Queen
Ruler of this land
(And my heart, which longs for your hand)
And its waters
(Across which I loved you)
And its daughters
And sons
Each
And every
One kiss is enough
Let me just brush
Like paint
Against an easel
Creating a masterpiece
Without you I have no peace

And ladies and gentlemen take no heed
Of this speech, my humorous deed
For I am a fool
Just a tool used to coax the embers of giggles
Into a fire
And such is not the way of love
For what have I to kiss my face
But collar of lace
And paint of blue
But never you
My aim is true
But holds not the courage to fly towards the mark.