The Joke

The Joke

Everything started out with the jokes.
Or with THE joke.
The one.
The joke to begin and/or end
all the other jokes in this world.

It all started out with that joke.
Until everything & all
had been turned into a joke,
and the joke—all by itself—
had become much too serious
for any other kind of joke.

(Within or without
this dusty old world.)