Laughter - a poem and a chart of levels
Cosmic Laughter
by Ed Maupin
On the Great Waking-Up Morning, Hector went out on his porch,
Saw Helen, next door, in her yard weeding,
Looked over at her with brimming fondness - which surprised him.
She straightened up and turned around, - and she was feeling that way, too.
He gazed at her for a long, long time.
So familiar she was that she seemingly was him.
She gazed that way too, and then they could see
that the One that they were was the One Without Second.
Tears and awe, indeterminate time,
then, slowly emerging, they saw everything fresh,
beautiful, absurd. They started to laugh.
They'd been quarrelsome neighbors, indignant, fuming
fantasticly funny now, as the joke became clear.
Uproarious laughter attracted more neighbors:
starting off cautious, cracking a smile,
then blowing away in great gusts of glee.
A policeman came to quell the disturbance,
but, seeing it happening all down the street,
felt absurd, so he laughed 'til he cried.
Great Waking-Up Morning all over the planet.
Everywhere clusters of people were gathering,
laughing together as never before, and the
sound of it echoed down streets and across valleys.
Weeping there was and gnashing of teeth
but there in the heart of that terrible grief was the One.
The past was a game of such intricate vastness,
we couldn't have known.
Now we knew.
Global eruption of tears and elation.
Bosnia writhed with forgiveness and joy.
Stockbrokers rolling on trading room floors
Evangelists, Senators, Stars, and Professors,
tumbling free-fall in the equality of laughter.
Spasms of mirth ended serious warfare:
whole armies bent over, slapping their knees.
Structures unbudged by any revolution
crumbled as holders of power cracked up.
Really big men, with a lot to lose, lost it
in sobs of remorse, and then blessed laughter
Days later, subsiding (breaking out here and there)
we knew all the walls had come tumbling down:
no problem too big; no unresolved issue.
With laugh-opened lungs we sighed,
took a deep, collective breath,
and started to build a new world.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Some time ago I attempted to chart the various levels
of laughter. Here's the result. Please feel free to
suggest changes:
Laughter Discharge Levels
number 1:.guffaw - unh-hunh-hunh
number 2: titter - tee-hee-hee
(1). snicker
(2). snigger
number 3: giggle - hee-hee-hee, ghee-ghee-ghee
number 4: chuckle - hunh-hunh-hunh
(1) cackle - yak-yak-yak
number 5: laugh -
(1) hah-hah-hah
(2) yuck - yuk-yuk-yuk
(3) crow - haw-haw-haw
number 6: belly laugh - ho-ho-ho
(1). with snort - on inhale
number 7: bray - haw-haw-haw
number 8: bellow - hoo-hoo-hoo
number 9: scream - Eeeeeeeee!
(loss of urethral sphincter control)
number10 shriek - Aiiiiiiiii!
(loss of anal sphincter control)
number 11: die laughing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
by Ed Maupin
On the Great Waking-Up Morning, Hector went out on his porch,
Saw Helen, next door, in her yard weeding,
Looked over at her with brimming fondness - which surprised him.
She straightened up and turned around, - and she was feeling that way, too.
He gazed at her for a long, long time.
So familiar she was that she seemingly was him.
She gazed that way too, and then they could see
that the One that they were was the One Without Second.
Tears and awe, indeterminate time,
then, slowly emerging, they saw everything fresh,
beautiful, absurd. They started to laugh.
They'd been quarrelsome neighbors, indignant, fuming
fantasticly funny now, as the joke became clear.
Uproarious laughter attracted more neighbors:
starting off cautious, cracking a smile,
then blowing away in great gusts of glee.
A policeman came to quell the disturbance,
but, seeing it happening all down the street,
felt absurd, so he laughed 'til he cried.
Great Waking-Up Morning all over the planet.
Everywhere clusters of people were gathering,
laughing together as never before, and the
sound of it echoed down streets and across valleys.
Weeping there was and gnashing of teeth
but there in the heart of that terrible grief was the One.
The past was a game of such intricate vastness,
we couldn't have known.
Now we knew.
Global eruption of tears and elation.
Bosnia writhed with forgiveness and joy.
Stockbrokers rolling on trading room floors
Evangelists, Senators, Stars, and Professors,
tumbling free-fall in the equality of laughter.
Spasms of mirth ended serious warfare:
whole armies bent over, slapping their knees.
Structures unbudged by any revolution
crumbled as holders of power cracked up.
Really big men, with a lot to lose, lost it
in sobs of remorse, and then blessed laughter
Days later, subsiding (breaking out here and there)
we knew all the walls had come tumbling down:
no problem too big; no unresolved issue.
With laugh-opened lungs we sighed,
took a deep, collective breath,
and started to build a new world.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Some time ago I attempted to chart the various levels
of laughter. Here's the result. Please feel free to
suggest changes:
Laughter Discharge Levels
number 1:.guffaw - unh-hunh-hunh
number 2: titter - tee-hee-hee
(1). snicker
(2). snigger
number 3: giggle - hee-hee-hee, ghee-ghee-ghee
number 4: chuckle - hunh-hunh-hunh
(1) cackle - yak-yak-yak
number 5: laugh -
(1) hah-hah-hah
(2) yuck - yuk-yuk-yuk
(3) crow - haw-haw-haw
number 6: belly laugh - ho-ho-ho
(1). with snort - on inhale
number 7: bray - haw-haw-haw
number 8: bellow - hoo-hoo-hoo
number 9: scream - Eeeeeeeee!
(loss of urethral sphincter control)
number10 shriek - Aiiiiiiiii!
(loss of anal sphincter control)
number 11: die laughing
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-