I'm Major Jackson and this is the slowdown.

One of my favorite feelings in life is when I'm clutched and laughter, holding myself in

tears. Better when I have made a friend chuckle or giggle or preferably snort. I like best to

catch this one friend after she has taken a swig of water. Not fair, I know, but how great to see

someone lose it. Suddenly, I and whoever else is around her are all misted with her mirth.

I love the connection mutual laughter invites. It fertilizes friendships, brings us nearer.

Many consider poetry highbrow, an art of deep reflection, which on some occasions it is.

Truth be told, poems can also be as enjoyable as any skillfully told joke.

How are poetry and comedy the same? Like any funny anecdote with a clincher, a poem has a

structure, a surprise, and a turn. There's the setup and the epiphany, which is often embedded in

humor, the punchline, so to speak. Poetry also often begins with the familiar, then makes a

profound observation, sometimes with biting relevance or satire. Comedy and poetry both use puns,

another place of language to delight their audiences. Poets and comedians must also think about

delivery. In each instance, the poet and the comedian rely on the audience to help complete their

acts of wit. In life, I am jovial, but wouldn't say that I am funny, I have to intentionally work

at being silly. I believe in the end is the only way to live, a while laughter and opposition to

the ludicrous in life. All that makes us angry or sad in the headlines or in our homes.

When giving a reading, I admit to a certain pleasure in hearing even one person chuckle at a poem,

an experienced doubt, like a comedian, when no one laughs, especially when at other times,

said poem landed like a pinata of joy. Today's sly poem risks off that famous setup of three holy

men walking into a bar. Instead of a priest, a rabbi and a minister, Jesus walks in,

and instead of a bar, he saunters into a coffee shop. I enjoy when poets ask themselves the question,

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