A Simple Happiness

By John Herlihy

A simple happiness can scatter a thousand sorrows,

It comes on its own, unexpected and unannounced.

Sorrows like crows sitting content on a wire in rows,

Scatter in alarm as our happiness like a cat pounced.

Who can account for the arrival of such rare pleasure,

Fallen down from the blue without even being asked.

To punctuate our tedium of days with its rare treasure,

To wash hearts of all sorrow, in the sun briefly to bask.

Our simple joy may be brief, akin to a fresh cup of tea,

Its taste a breath of fresh mint that lingers for a while.

We gaze into distance as if there is something to see,

With pleasures still to happen, may they arrive in style.

A simple happiness can truly feel like a thousand joys,

To fill our hearts as in our childhood with our little toys.

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(c) John Herlihy November 2018