A happiness poem written by 9 people

These moments of happiness were written by some of the members of the Wednesday Morning Writing Circle, November 2, 2016, in just a few minutes.

Our inspiration came from the poet Tachibana Akemi (1812-1868) whose long happiness poem appears in the book From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry, edited and translated by Hiroaki Sato and Burton Watson


Chris Sanchirico

happiness is when
i call my cat
and he comes home
and i give him
a salmon treat

happiness is when
i am walking on the bike path
on a crisp fall morning
the sun sparkling on the leaves
and i smile

happiness is when
i make a cup of ceylon tea
and smell it before
adding the milk
the cup warm in my hands

happiness is when
i think of each of my children
picture them when young
think of what they are doing now
grateful

happiness is when
i wake up in the morning
and slowly come alive to the realization
that there are no plans
i am retired



Fran Helmstadter

happiness is when
i see my dog jump up
on the bed ... turn three times
and lie down ... her head on two blue pillows
her warm presence

happiness is when
i sink back into a lounge chair
on the deck
and smell the salty ocean
along penobscot bay

happiness is when
i remember the first news of
my grandson's birth
at home in his father's arms
in santa fe

happiness is when
i release great anger
after keeping it company
and emerging slowly
from it



Janie Nusser

happiness is when
i awaken without the sound of an alarm
stretch my fingers and legs and arms and
snuggle into the warmth one last time
before my day begins

happiness is when
i begin the day with a long difficult hike
take a break
retrieve the rake from the shed
and end the day with the last leaf

happiness is when
i have put the gardens to bed for the winter
snow shovels at the ready
long underwear traded back into the dresser
and the geranims snuggly asleep in the cellar



Liz Burns

happiness is when
i eat a cupcake
with chocolate frosting
and rainbow
sprinkles

happiness is when
i take a hot bubble bath
and sink
into the water
up to my nose

happiness is when
i start my computer
and don't have to call
the geek squad and chat with an agent
for an hour and a half

happiness is when
i read
words
that resonate
in my life



Mary Louise Church

happiness is when
i look up from my knitting
and see my friend
who always has some interesting comment
either about what i'm doing or what he is doing

happiness is when
i pull all the left-overs out of the fridge
put them together in a creative way
and my husband says "this is really good
we'll never have it again, will we"

happiness is when
my dearest friend suggests some adventure
and we have time together
to chat and laugh
and plan on doing it again soon

happiness is when
i'm working on a very difficult acrostic puzzle
where i not only don't know the word that fits the definition
i don't even know the words in the definition itself
but through working the puzzle i get the anwer to both


 
Rainbow Crow

happiness is when
i walk a path
of dying or dead plants
and grass
and find a purple violet staring at me

happiness is when
i am struggling
to find a comfortable
way to sleep
and my cat curls up
behind my knees

happiness is when
i find worms
and toads
and snakes
after putting the garden to bed

happiness is when
i see my physical therapist
and she flashes her dazzling smile
along with a little cleavage



Ross Haarstad

happiness is when
the sodden wrap
dripping with gloom
breaks off
in the brisk autumn wind

happiness is when
i write of it
in a circle
of friends
writing of happiness

happiness is when
the town fills up
with wizards
wands flying
through young enchantments

happiness is when
i am not unhappy
or stressed
or panicking
or many other things



Susanna Drbal
 
happiness is when
i look up at the stars
and at my feet
fireflies gather
and spark

happiness is when
i write
and the words flow
and i feel
unemcumbered

happiness is when
i cross that bridge
from to-do
to
finally done

happiness is when
i hear the creak
in jerry garcia's voice
and i feel the
careless joy of youth

happiness is when
i hear thunder
followed by bulbous
plops of rain
and feel washed anew



Zee Zahava

happiness is when
i feel a bit drab
and then remind myself that
i can put on mis-matched socks
and i do

happiness is when
i decide i just don't care
and i let the leaves blow in
and i don't
vacuum them up