Laughter Lines

(A Shakespearean sonnet)

Those lines upon your face are nothing new;

Well-earned are they o’er many years of time.

They tell the tale of life that you’ve been through;

Of hills and mountains that you’ve had to climb. 

But stronger than the lines that show your sighs,

Are those that speak of how you faced the heights:

With laughter and a twinkle in your eyes,

You planted hope and reaped life’s pure delights. 

Dismissing those who lift their lines away

To make a face where character is banned,

You hail the triumphs that your lines display,

And cheer the wisdom written by their hand. 

‘Tis wonderful to see a face with lines

Through which the love of life and laughter shines.

© Linda Visman

4^th April 2007