He started each day with a joke,
Often simple, but if useful baroque.
     The listeners repeated them,
     The circle completed them
Til a sense of good fellowship woke.

People laughed till their sides started splitting.
And—with their underwear no longer fitting,
     Their punch lines were showing
     With the north winds still blowing
There were strains of the humor transmitting!

The puns that he used were outrageous.
He was forced to reduce them by stages.
     The CDC said
     Epidemics they spread,
The guffaws were extremely contagious!

But the humor was also a cure
For the pains that they'd had to endure.
     No elixirs were shaken,
     Not a bitter pill taken,
And the feelings of wellness were pure.

So he settled for writing refrains,
With a bit of sly humor ingrained.
     If you don’t see the slyness--
     Per Thomas Aquinas--
If you love it no need to explain!