I heard Gran tell Mama once
that Aunt Bee turned sour
after her husband left her.
But Aunt Bee
never looks sour
when she laughs.
She has this laugh
that lights the day.
She laughs and laughs
until she quits
making any sound at all.
She shakes all that laughter
out into the world
so everyone around her
starts smiling and then
laughing and then
shaking, too.
My daddy used to do
all sorts of things
to get her to laugh like that,
and I thought there was
nothing more magnificent
cutting up just so
Aunt Bee would laugh.
He would say, Jesus, Bee,
you’re gonna hurt yourself,
and Gran would wag her finger
in my daddy’s face and say,
Don’t you take the Lord’s
name in vain, you hear me, boy?
and Aunt Bee would just
laugh harder.
Sometimes Aunt Bee couldn’t stop
once she got started,
and Mama would have to
pound her back and yell,
Breathe, Bee! Breathe!
and my daddy would
wipe tears, too.