(Thoughts on a line from an unpublished sonnet by Keats)
Why did I laugh tonight? No voice will tell.
I chortled when I saw I’d made a gaffe.
I make them all the time. Why should I dwell
on beating myself up? No, I just laugh
wholeheartedly at my absurdity.
I know I’ll make more howlers before long.
I wouldn’t laugh at you like that: such glee
at other people's blunders would be wrong.
But as for me, I know that I don’t mind,
and should some others see that I don’t care
how daft I look, then if they are inclined
to laugh as well, it’s something we can share.
Eventually we lose it all, we know.
All we can do is laugh and let it go.