Laugh was created from pure whimsy. In it, I explored what the shape of laughter might look like—and whether joy could be contagious, not just in spirit, but to connect with others. Alongside this artwork, I began to freewrite as a way to release the words and subconscious impressions that surfaced during the process.

What is the shape of a laugh?

Is it a swirling
inverted roundness,
or a zigzagged slide?

Is it plump like dime-store gumballs,
or tiny crumbs of giggles
caught behind the teeth?

Is it stringy, gleaming, golden-lit—
hiding inside a jack-o’-lantern?

Does its tongue flop from the throat
of a wide-open sneaker,
wheezing so hard it turns red?

Is it uninhibited, contagious,
rerouting the air,
making new shapes of space—

then catching again
on the next breath,
spilling forward,
wild and round
as ever.