I Laugh

 

I laugh at the day,

however it turns out.
And at the night, dark or starry
I count as joy!
I laugh in the morning sunlight
laugh at the fierce noon day sun,
the fading light of dusk,

The sparkling moonlight, and
the twinkling stars at night.
I laugh to see the egrets,
Flying overhead, destined for
I know not where.
I laugh at the ants,
Who stole bits of my food
Into their hidden cove
At the foot of my wall.

I laugh at the wind,
Even the mighty Harmattan, 

When it comes desiccating all.
I laugh at the trees,
The grass, and the shrubs,
Even the thorns and thistles.
I laugh at the rain;
Hailstones, 

when they come pelting.

And thunderstorms, 

when they come,

tearing all in their path.

 
I laugh to see my feet
Drenched in the dawn dew
And the tender shoots in the fields
Trembling in the morning breeze.
I laugh to see the maize, the millet
And the sorghum in bloom,
As the birds, and the bees
humming from flower to flower, 

fertilizes them.
I laugh to see the ripened crop
All ready for the harvest.
 
I laugh at myself,
reflected by sunlight or glass.
With my friends, and all peoples;
Those who laugh, and
Those needing a cheer.
I laugh when in love and 

when broken, I fall and rise bruised.
I laugh in sleep,
when I dream scared,
and wake trembling!
At life, 

with its broken dreams, I laugh,
And even death,
with its promise of eternal bliss, 

Should find me chortling.
 
“To laugh at men of sense is the privilege of fools”.
Better that I should be acclaimed a fool
Than that I should die humourless.

Tamale

08/02/2022