“Symptoms of Laughter”
April 2011

It starts with a slap of the knee-

and leads into side splitting
gut wrenching
tears of mirth – found at the corners of eyes.

It’s a fullness.

It starts deep in the diaphragm
building its way up through quickly inflating and deflating lungs
and into a heart that pumps overtime.
Working to spread warmth through the limbs-
to fingers and toes.

It’s the warmth that loosens the shoulders
throws the head back and releases the day’s tension
the week’s stress
the month’s worries
and the year’s damages-

out

into open air.

So they can no longer hide in the corners of the soul.

They must fend for themselves.

Now vulnerable to the indestructable:
the guffaws
the chortles
the giggles
the chuckles
the cackles
the roars
and bursts

of laughter.

Laughter.

It’s how we survive depression,
never ending economic recession,
and the  hundreds of politicians that just don’t know when to quit.

It feeds us.  And fills us.

So that the ripped seams of our skin will mend,
the bruises covering our hearts will fade,
and the gashes in our armor will heal.

And sometimes.

Especially sometimes. . .

It starts deep deep in the diaphragm
descending to warm and fill our bellies

so that we can laugh

like children again.

Without any restraint.