Make Me a Laughing Fool…

      It is better to heed a wise manʼs rebuke
than to listen to the song of fools.

Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This too is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 7:5-6 NIV)

Crackling thorns under a pot.
Laughter of fools.
Who’s the fool? Isn’t it the one not
taking delight in the crackling and the
laughter?
But joy comes too in words that sting
for the sting comes from truth.
Truth, no matter how painful,
yields joy like the crackling of thorns
under the pot.
God, give us joy when we see
the meaningless
parts of life,
when sounds, sights, smells
give little pleasures.
Make me a laughing fool,
at least part of the time.
A Time for Verse
Barbara B. Rollins. A Time for Verse – Poetic Ponderings on Ecclesiastes