Harlequinade

What is a joke
when its gone wrong?
will the laughter last
just quite as long?

will the giggling stop
when the screams begin?
and the pain has seeped
to deep within?

do the funny pranks,
how impractical,
loose their sport
when you fall?

then why play jokes
that end so well?
when if your alive
no one can tell?

you know laughing scalds
and burns down deep
it leaves you in
a bloody heap

damn harlequinade
and your tomfoolery
the result is a death
why can't you see?