Laughter
It is fun to feel and know laughter.
Coming unexpectedly,
To capture one before and after...
With an attempt to witness them,
Trying to keep kept within themselves...
Doing this as a grin begins to broaden.
While they bow a head.
Then to bend over,
Laughing out loud instead.
Leaving others to look and wonder,
What joke was told no one had heard.
Until the one that is laughing says,
'Not only have I noticed,
I am wearing one sock.
But my shoes do not match.
And the one on the right foot.
Belongs on the left.'
'I thought you were laughing at me!'
'Why would I do that?'
'I got up this morning late for work.
Brushed my teeth and took a shower.
Put on my pants.
Left my apartment.
To later discover,
I put on my boxer shorts...
Over my pants.
Never to have it dawn on me,
What I had done.
Until the bus driver asked me,
If I was being paid to advertise.
And when I sat to look down at myself.
You started to laugh.'
'So...
You did not do that on purpose?'
'Did you?'
'Uh...
These days have us all,
Rushing too fast to catch up to late...
For time we don't take to think.
And besides...
No one else has laughed on this bus,
But me.'
'You know,
At first I thought you were...
A little bit nuts.
But...
As I look at,
The other passengers on this bus?
Being a little bit nuts,
Qualifies both of us...
To be just as normal as everyone else.
However...
You laughing like that at yourself?
To do that by yourself too?
It would have taken me,
Time to be convinced...
You actually live a normal life.'
'And...
You,
Are wearing your underwear...
Over your pants.
Advertising what?
A healthy mentality?'
'But...
I am not laughing about it.'
'Neither am I.
Although...
I will make one suggestion.'
'What?'
'When you do arrive to your job?
Take the stairs.
Don't wait for the elevator.
Rush to the nearest bathroom.
And don't attempt to explain to anyone.
Why you are late.
Or anything!
And...
If and when,
We should see each again?
Let's both pretend,
We are as normal as normal can be.
Do it until you feel comfortable.'
'And...
What is that suppose to mean?'
'I'm just suggesting.
Not recommending or giving advice.'
'I don't believe what's going on.'
'Denial?
Once it is faced?
So ridiculous becomes,
The seriousness to refuse and protect...
Its existence.
I've been there already.'
'Your comments are laughable.'
'Save it until your reach the bathroom.'
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Submitted by lpahtillah on February 04, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:46 min read
- 4 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | abaxxcdadaxxxxxxx b e xafxaxfbcbxgx hi xxjxxib hakEeikixaglbxx Mlxfeb Ex xhc xxancjoMppxbq Mx ox x qxxxxb q n |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 2,366 |
Words | 546 |
Stanzas | 17 |
Stanza Lengths | 17, 1, 1, 13, 2, 7, 15, 6, 2, 3, 13, 2, 2, 1, 6, 1, 1 |
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"Laughter" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 19 Feb. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/119147/laughter>.
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