Why “old”?
Is it because I’m old
and tell the same
old same old
you’ve heard
before
before
before?

Then why 
do you laugh?

It’s not just pity.
Do you think it gives control
because you groan,
because you tell me
“That’s a Dad joke”
and have to explain
what that is?

A joke’s 
a joke. 

A laugh’s
a laugh.

Funny’s
funny.

Laughing’s
good exercise
which we need
in our sedentary lives.

They say
“Laughter’s the best medicine”
when we already know
that’s an old joke
but partly true
the way old jokes always are.

Old jokes are a way
to bring the old into the new.

Old jokes
help to keep us human
so human
doesn’t slip away.

I taught for years
told old jokes to students
who protested
but told me not to stop
and joked back.

I overheard a group of guys
the other day
the current generation
telling laughing savoring
an old joke
I long ago
heard from my mother-in-law
who heard it from her mother.

It’s comforting to know
some things endure.

Old jokes
bring history
into now
so we can measure
where we are
and where we’re going.

Speaking of measuring and noses,
we weren’t but are now,
we all love Cyrano
not just for the nose
but for the way
his sharp and pointed jokes
poke and skewer and deflate,
that virtuoso nose
the butt of jokes
done right
so new is old
and old is new again.

Old jokes
give laughter a good name.

Old jokes are a way
for some people
to make a living.

Old jokes are needed
more and more
when times go
from tough to tragic
and we need
new old ways
to keep us sane
and going on.

Old jokes breed new
like fields already planted
where life springs up again.

Old jokes are templates
for our lives
how many ways
we can replay
_____ goes into a bar
and always get a laugh. 

I don’t mind being old
an old joke myself.
I’m in a renewing process
that’s almost just enough.

I like to laugh
and hear you laugh
as we laugh together.

Let me help you out.
Which way did you come in?