Joke

How sad
To be so poor
That you can’t afford
Your own laughter,
To insist 
That it must be 
At another’s expense,
To beg 
That you be allowed 
Only a joke
Except it never is
Enough
It won’t be
Not one, not any, not many
Would be enough
To fill
Your emptiness.


First published in Hakara, 15 Jan 2018.