Room lay heavy thick with sighs
Brows like winter in the eyes
Then a laugh escaped the seam
Shattered gloom like sudden dream
Shoulders softened into breath
Stiffness lost its quiet death
Faces learned their softer shape
Light poured through each gentle gape
Humor freed the locked-up rib
Joy returned without a fib
Nothing solved yet all was eased
Heart grew warm and peace was seized
Laughter heals without command
Unties fear’s unconscious hand
Spells dissolve where joy appears—
Smiles defeat a thousand fears