The Mask of Laughter
By John Herlihy

Laughter bears the hallmark of faint praise,
But leaves questions behind we need to raise.
Everyone seems ready to take laughter’s plunge,
To dive into its waters our misery to expunge.
Laughter follows us thru the day as next of kin,
Spreading like butter on the face in a silly grin.

What lies behind laughter, what does it mean,
Its echo rings as bells but is not what it seems.
How much truth lies in the folds of its falsehood,
The meaning of laughter easily misunderstood.
There are times when laughter holds up a mask,
The laughter trips on its toes not up to the task.

Frail laughter emerges as people feel uncertain,
They hide doubts as their laugh closes a curtain.
Sometimes people laugh but it feels like stone,
Their blackened hearts really do need to atone.
Others end up laughing when they feel nervous,
Better to laugh that try to hide or be impervious.

Some people laugh when in fact they want to cry
Laughter takes away the feeling they want to die
I once knew a fellow who had a miserable life,
With a hard destiny, he knew nothing but strife.
With his life-long suffering from an ignoble past,
His laughter held no rights, but stood firm and fast.