We used to sit on radiators and laugh.

Heads thrown back, not caring that

Everyone could see my black fillings

And crooked teeth.

Loose-limbed, lazy, brazen, bare.



Cackling now, we are louder

Though there is less to laugh at.

This roar leaves my heart on a precipice.

I curl my toes in my shoes.  This is

Not funny.



Today, when I am amused, I cover my mouth

Stare at the floor.

Laughing only with my shoulders.