It chokes me

(though, not with its hands)

I struggle to catch my breath

When its grip tightens I don’t protest

But instead smile more

And let air escape my lungs in a vain effort

As guffaws take hold

 

Knock-knock

It might begin

A faint voice tempting me to open the door

Knock-knock

It tries again, persistent

And even when it’s not appropriate,

I must admit I let it in

 

The jokes themselves have no particular architecture

And I must, again, admit

That ‘knock-knock’

Is rarely their beginning.

Also, in case you hadn’t noticed,

They seldom mention airplane food.

 

You know, I heard this one the other day

A guy walks into a bar

A guy? No… a bat maybe

Or a fish? But they can’t walk.

It must’ve been a one-legged blue swan with a bad case of halitosis.

Yeah, that’s it.

 

While elusive and impossible to grasp

Humor lies somewhere between

The unacceptable and the outrageous

It goes just too far

But not over the line

 

It consumes your body

The everyday melts away

Laughter is universal

And even though I might breathe a little better without it

Who really needs oxygen anyway?