Published: 7 March 2025

Mansion of Joy

The world needs comedians,
comedians need people who laugh,
the comedians have Arlen.

A boy with a big laugh,
to fill a hall, a building, to fill the world
with a shout of joy that is large.
A laugh to make others laugh, a laugh
that says, Success! If a joke is a question,
the comedians have their answer in my son.

The house of the child who loves to laugh
must be filled with the most proper guests:
in the kitchen, two chefs, Laurel and Hardy
provide feasts of frivolity, amuse bouche of mirth;
in the parlour, playing with toy trains is Buster
who proceeds to fall out a window, run away and trip;
Charlie presides in the grand ballroom, dancing on roller skates,
Maestro Chaplin concocting grand symphonies of elation and sorrow,
bright moments of triumph, darkness of profound pain –
Charlie tutors Arlen in the tapestry of humour,
invites him to dance, to sing, to eat his shoe –
he’s the one Arlen loves best.

There’s also the foolish groundskeeper, Red Green
who builds impossible machines in his workshop
made sublimely ridiculous, he’s not handsome
he’s handy! How Arlen laughs – Red’s in colour
but he plays in black and white,
he knows where he comes from.

One time, in the hospital, Arlen recovering
from neutropenia, the doctors do their rounds,
from the hallway, they hear him laugh,
come into the room, the head doctor, two or three
attending doctors, interns, a couple of nurses
(is that Harpo back there, honking his horn?)

The lead oncologist says, “You certainly like to laugh!
Who makes you laugh like that?” Arlen doesn’t blink
“Charlie and Red,” he replies. The doctor puzzled,
looks at me, I clarify, “Charlie Chaplin and Red Green,”
and doctors, nurses, interns, Harpo, forget the hospital,
forget themselves and laugh like someone told them
the best joke they ever heard.

Arlen sits in his hospital bed
he’s on stage now, and his smile says,
“Welcome to my mansion of joy.”

More Poetry:

we all naturally float

we all naturally float
it’s a matter of fact
carried over a waterfall
bathing in Shangri-la
we all float with ease
it’s true some float more
than others, not to mention
those who are sinkers

tea

I have learnt to appreciate tea.
It gives a lift, almost sinful,
between the late afternoon,
and the beginning of the dark.

Attack of the Hairy World

Bonnie woke up to a globe covered in hair.
It wasn’t originally furry, it must have
happened over night, she didn’t remember
it being that way before she went to sleep.
It was a gift from her grandfather
who wanted to encourage an interest
in geography — but it wasn’t covered in fur
when he gave it to her, was this a dream?
It felt real — she stroked it. It purred
and spun. Bonnie sat for a while stroking
and watching her new hairy world spin.

the Sun God says hello

awaken to light on the ceiling
open the curtains, the clouds are gone
the horizon bright warm exciting
the Sun God says hello

Naked under leather

Naked under leather
soaked in water
laugh on instinct
see far beyond you
stand on what’s under
start again what’s over
think about what’s forgotten
reach past your grasp

to be yourself

we refine ourselves
add to ourselves
through acts of kindness
help others
share love

define ourselves
through sorrows
our errors
our foolishness

Related

we all naturally float

we all naturally float

we all naturally float
it’s a matter of fact
carried over a waterfall
bathing in Shangri-la
we all float with ease
it’s true some float more
than others, not to mention
those who are sinkers

read more
tea

tea

I have learnt to appreciate tea.
It gives a lift, almost sinful,
between the late afternoon,
and the beginning of the dark.

read more
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ABCDERIUM Wheels Within Wheels

Annabel Aerosol waved goodbye to her parents who watched her through the window. Then, she stepped off the curb into the path of an oncoming
Bus that killed her upon impact. It also nearly ended the lives of her parents on the spot, who wished they died along with her, and they no longer look through that window. That day
Carl found a lottery ticket.

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1 Comment

  1. Garth Douglas

    My dear friend Ward
    A story I did not know

    Thanks for the memory.
    I remember his laugh and you’re right – a mansion of joy.

    Reply

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