Write About Humor's Role in Our Culture, the Poetry Prompt Said, Which Is an Unfunny Idea

Assholes on Twitter will tell you

that women aren’t funny,

which is very strange to me

because I wouldn’t have made it this long

if I wasn’t funny.

I’m not conventionally attractive

or physically coordinated.

I’m prone to depression

and have a family history of mental illness.

Of course I’m fucking funny.

I cling to laughter as a life raft

when life’s trying to drown me in an ocean of bullshit.

And I make people laugh.
I once made Saul Williams laugh—not a polite “ha ha”

but a real laugh!

I could tell you what I said,

but I don’t think it would be as funny out of context.

Anyway.

There was a point in my life

when I was 13 or 14,

and I could choose who I wanted to be.

I certainly did not like myself very much,

and my classmates, in general, agreed.

I could have been the girl who really got into Tori Amos,

and that would have been fine,

but I would be a MUCH different person than I am now.

Instead I became obsessed with Monty Python,

and I realized that all the things that were making me miserable,

like irrationally angry teachers or packs of seventh-grade girls,

were actually absurdly hilarious if you look at them the right way.

And I would find the one person who was also

on the outside looking in,

and I’d make fun of the cliques and the bizarre Catholic school rules.

Then I would have a friend.

And that’s how I got by.

It’s how I still get by,

always looking on the bright side of life.