For Laughs, with Seriousness

by Maura H. Harrison

For laughs, I roll around in tragedy,

Tangling my hair with plausible debris:

The gummy wads of loss and cost and feud,

The straws of sorrow, hollowed, haystack-hued.

With seriousness, I comb this comedy

Looking for little lauds of truth. I see

Many a reasoned reed, filled more and less,

With messy blessings and a blessed mess.

I tug the tangle, wrangle certainty

But find my comb still caught in mystery:

This seriousness is knotted thoroughly

With laughs, untying all the tears in me.

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Maura H. Harrison is a writer and artist from Fredericksburg, VA. Her works have appeared with Ekstasis Magazine, The Windhover, THINK Journal, and others.