TS Eliot was right...

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire

Cruelty, memory and desire... These words came crashing to me last night. Torturing my soul anew. Reaching out and inflicting this angst on friends, confidants and compatriots at the table.

Having the power to pierce the soft surface of a dear one's heart with just a few flippant words. A weapon not to be trifled with.

Sitting over dinner and drinks. Laughter, reminiscing, good times, bad times. And then I asked the question. "So, Imp? What's the funniest joke in the world?"

The jaw dropped. The face flushed. The eyes communicating a deep wound to the psyche. Hands rushed to the head to keep the brain from exploding.

What IS the funniest joke in the world. It was told by the Imp about 6 years ago. Out with friends, bit of a pub crawl. We're out on the sidewalk trading favourite quips. Then out of nowhere, he smacked the grand-slam of all joke homeruns. It was the funniest thing I ever heard. My companions agreed. We had to scrape ourselves off the concrete, fearing for the cleanliness of our undergarments. The Imp look surprised. It was an old joke, he protested. You MUST have heard that one before. None of us had. And in the haze of shock, of surprise, aided by beer goggles, it happened.

We forgot it. All of us.

The funniest joke in the world. Never to be told again.