“GIGGLES” by Gary Rhule 08/11/14

I love to laugh rather than cry,
To equilibrate the scale.
For in this life I know more tears will come,
Just when I thought they’re done.

I laugh to hide my scares and fears,
And guffaw at a funny joke.
Don’t take it wrong.
It’s not that I’m an insensitive bloke.

The other day the tears came softly,
As I recalled the grief
Of losing what was dear to me.
The pain so raw, so pungent.

Without a warning the rivers flowed,
As I counted up regrets,
Of things I’d said,
Of tasks undone,
Of promises not kept.

Then there were the disappointments
Of all the paths in life.
A love that chose another,
A job desired given to a friend instead.

Of moments spent lollygagging,
And in the end,
It was no fluke,
My time dispersed, diffused.

So when I find myself
Down there in the deep dark blue abyss,
I remember giggling children,
And feel the lightness there.

I know to get over grief’s hurdle
You must fulfill time in that room.
But at the end of crying,
Close the door and move.

I laugh when in an airplane,
Embracing all the sights.
The lush landscape below my feet,
The clouds right by my side.

The blue horizon kissing,
Saying, “Welcome, don’t you feel
The humor of life’s beauty,
The clapping of the seas?”

Majestic snow-capped mountains,
Hills and vales and plains.
A giggling brook carving out a path,
Through solid granite rock.

We’ve heard it said
That children laugh three hundred times a day.
At funny things, at clowns and gowns,
At shapes and brightful colors.
And then sometimes they laugh out loud,
When it is simply nothing.

I only wish to remember more,
To laugh out loud just like a child.
To balance life’s reality,
And keep the tears at bay.

Laugh out loud,
Don’t hold it in.
Just let it rip for sure.
Laugh out loud,
So that others know,
There is a joy tickling within.
A smile, a laugh that’s bubbling now . . .

A shout, a yell, a roar!