Funny Once

I replay your voice, a joke gone dry,

a cracked screen catching light, a moment awry.

We laughed ‘til it hurt, the world blurred away,

now I hold this weight—where’s that joy gone astray?

Your laughter was sunlight, a balm for the night,

but now it hangs heavy, just echoes of fright.

That quip about waiting for paint to dry

now feels like a ghost, a soft, mournful sigh.

I scroll through the memories, they fade like the glow,

your humor, once vibrant, now tethered in woe.

The punchline forgotten, our laughter a ghost,

what once cracked me up now feels like a host.