Laughter & Tears
The laughter of lost hope. The laughter of uncertainty. The laughter of belonging, of bondage, of betrayal. The belly laugh, the cat call, the jeer and the leer and the giggle. The laughter of pain, of bewilderment, the questioning laugh.
Why is it animals don’t laugh? Or cry? Unless you count the hyena. The hyena laughs because he’s found the ravaged remains of another’s prey. The hyena laughs in anticipation of sated hunger. But the hyena never cries.
Laughing on the outside, crying on the inside. Is that hypocrisy or fear? Is all hypocrisy fear?
Laugh like there’s no tomorrow. Laugh until the cows come home. Laugh until your sides ache. Laugh until you cry.
The joke’s on you. That’s almost always true, you know it in your heart, and this gives rise to nervous laughter.
Feigned good humor requires a fixed smile and glazed eyes.
The people who care the least are the people who believe they care the most. They laugh all the time and their lips tremble. They never get far in life and they cry at the drop of a hat.
The people who care the most have a stern look. They may smile a fleeting smile now and then, but it doesn’t last long. Down deep they’re willing to die for you if the need arises, but it seldom does, and the pressure builds. Now and then they startle people with a harsh burst of laughter. They never cry. In this respect they are like hyenas.
It’s best not to think about laughter and crying, but what else is there? Startling, isn’t it, to suddenly realize life is a vale of tears full of practical jokes.
Of course you can argue the point. What about love and hate, you might ask, and grow angry.
Anger is a form of crying.
I’m spinning out of control here. I long for someone like me who’s given up on everything.
Longing is the love nest in which laughter and tears cling to each other.
