I am that girl in
class
who never laughs
at your bawdy jokes
but sits quietly
doing my work.
You tease me
and don't
understand
why I don't think it's
funny.
You think I have no sense of
humor.
You're wrong.
I'll laugh for
hours
with my friends,
so hard sometimes
my stomach aches.
I smile and giggle
just like every other teenage
girl.
So when I don't
laugh
about your joke about
cancer,
I'm thinking of a beautiful
girl
who lost a wonderful
mother.
When I don't laugh at your
joke
about domestic abuse,
I'm thinking of the
bruises
my sister brought
home.
When I don't laugh at your
joke
about people with different
colored skin,
I'm thinking of
the
toughest boy I know
brought to tears
because of the
judgments
made based on his
race.
