Of Laughter
By Jane Merchant
No need to
tell me, laughter is not all
Of Life,
for I have struggled, hungered, wept
Alone,
with none to heed my frantic call
Through
bitter nights when even the white stars slept
And there
only agony and I
Lost in a
black abysm of disaster.
There was
no laughter then; only the cry
Of a torn
heart denying death its master.
No,
laughter is not all. But I have learned
That those
who live entirely are those who dare
Exultant,
freeing laughter, fairly earned
Through
victories over tempests of despair.
Who cannot
laugh dare not confront the day.
Who cannot
laugh can neither love nor pray.