Getting further down the line
of what I’ve called my life
I find that many things
that seemed of ponderous importance
make no difference at all

Whereas what really matters is
the times we’ve laughed —
the way they make a path
down which it’s easy
to laugh again, catching each other’s eyes
at the top of a giggle,
opening up the corridor
through which joy can bubble —
joy and belonging and some
wonderful forgiveness
for any former blaming

These places along which we’ve laughed
define the ways we know each other,
give the flavor of our family
where we come back, so eagerly, to drink.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 31, 2017