AMOR SEMPER CRESCIT RISUS

"If love is the treasure, laughter is the key." Yakov Smirnoff

Admittedly, this article is a little strange. First, there is that Latin title. Second, pretty much no one has any clue what it means. Third, I love Latin.

The strict English translation of the title of this article, “Amor semper crescit risus,” is “Love always grows laughter,” but the meaning is really the reverse, “Laughter grows love.” There is an abundance of research about the beneficial aspects of laughter in a love relationship.

Anecdotally, when you browse through profiles on dating sites, one of the most prevalent quality people are looking for in a potential love partner is a sense of humor. “Over 30 years of research has shown that although a sense of humor is important, it’s actually making each other laugh that’s the key….What is strongly related to relationship satisfaction…,is the humor couples create together.” (February 13, 2017, Lindsay Dodgson, Business Insider UK) In other words, successful partners share the same sense of humor — they find the same things funny. I can attest to the fact that this is true based upon personal experience, but that’s a story for another time.

All of the foregoing information is merely a preface to why I love Latin. It has nothing to do with a sense of humor or relationships; I just found that information interesting. I love Latin because it is the major foundation for English, among many other languages, and knowing Latin has helped me enormously throughout my educational history in terms of vocabulary and the ability to suss out the meaning and/or spelling of words I’ve never seen before because I recognize their Latin root. Needless to say, this training helps enormously in writing as well.

How did I happen to develop this love affair with Latin? I took Latin for four years at my Catholic high school. At the time, I considered it cruel and unusual punishment. Translating Julius Caesar was not only not fun, it was downright painful. Strangely, however, although I have no natural gift for foreign languages, I excelled at Latin. I actually won an award in my sophomore year from Auxilium Latinum, a National Latin Honor Society, for exemplary performance on their annual standardized Latin examination taken by thousands of high school and university students internationally. No one was more surprised than I, except perhaps my parents. Anyway, as dead a language as Latin is, I decided to write something in homage to it.

Today’s poem is about that.

AMO, I LOVE ~ the power of words

Each student of the Latin word learns right off the bat
how to conjugate the verb for love: amo, amas, amat.
While it may be a language dead, Latin is the base
for almost every language, and so it has its place.

If not for Latin, we would be at a loss for words.
I studied it for years because I wanted to be heard.
Writers often think of words as tools they use to build
and a foundation set in Latin helps that desire to be filled.

When I want to say two characters are feeling amorous,
I must use the base amo the Latin verb for love.
Words are like vehicles we send to one another;
my words below transmit my thoughts, totally uncovered.

Amo, I love ~
when a simple thought flows from heart to pen
and so easily affects the very strongest men.
Like when a daughter’s valentine written for her dad
tells him that he’s her only prince, her Sir Galahad.

Amo, I love ~
when a simple act you take demonstrates you care
and can quickly turn to mush my cold and harshest glare.
Like when your warmest smile on a simply awful day
takes more that just a modicum of my pain away.

Amo, I love ~
when a message that was born deep within my head
strengthened a person who said they wished they’re dead.
Like the simple Tweet, “I hear you…” sent to a follower last night,
brought a reply this morning saying, “Friend, you saved my life.”