Mirth Imagined
By John Herlihy

It only began as a faint rumble,
Deep within the well of the mind.
All thoughts seemingly began to crumble,
Into impressions of a far different kind.

My thoughts no longer staid and stately,
Neatly assembled, like soldiers, in a row.
My composure has broken down lately,
Sadness and loneliness tied up in a bow.

Who can account for our moods and temper?
As the seconds pass, the mind seizes a whim.
I go about my business but can hardly remember;
The last time I felt the urge for an honest grin.

Before I knew it, I felt a snicker, then a chuckle.
Can we laugh or cry without giving an account?
I took a deep breath and fastened my buckle;
Joyous laughter emerged in a copious amount.

At first, I really didn’t know what had occurred;
I just stood there in a funk like any other night.
When this alien spirit deep within me stirred,
Streaming through my body like inner light.

Truth to tell, I was in a room with assorted others,
When my laughter took on the air of contagion.
There with all kinds of people, even my brothers,
Everyone began to laugh with a force legion.

Then the room really began to froth and bubble;
The laughter was feeding itself fistfuls of mirth.
People began to bend over and fall into the rubble;
Others seized their stomachs to hold up their girth.

The raucous laughter spread like a conflagration;
A raging fire could not have kept up with such heft.
People laughed as if it were a totally new sensation,
Their eyes searching wildly as they caught their breath.

I began to think my laughter such that I couldn’t stop;
The people around me had the same look in their eyes.
Gasping for air helplessly, I feared I might simply drop;
People held on to each other feeling complete surprise.

But all things must pass and this riot of laughter did too;
The wild ecstatic feeling lapsed back into the depths.
If this be a sign of happiness, it arrived out of the blue.
As I settled back down, breathing with measured breaths;

Soon enough, the moment of helpless mirth began to pass;
People settled back down already forgetting what happened.
Their minds once again flooded with their miseries to amass;
Lost again in a turmoil of thought, the mirth now only imagined.