i told a joke,
an anecdote really,
that only amused
one guy in the room,
but he was american
among the british
and a bit odd,
borrowing titles
from kafka.

so this story was
about how shakespeare
would feel more at home
in the mountainous regions
of north carolina
than in his native london
if he travelled in time
to the present.

however, the real pun
was not actually hidden
in the accents
but in the silence
that followed.