TWO TYPES OF HAPPINESS

These days, I tell myself:

don't squander your time
seeking the type of happiness 
ruled by the whimsy
of a mad god called “Fortune”--
he will turn his smile into a frown
without warning.

These days, I tell myself:

find the type of happiness found
by those who have gone through darkness
and now beam the beatific smile. 

For too long, I believed
I’d find Fortune smiling at me
just around the next corner

and so I worked to turn 
corner after corner after corner.

Some may say 
I “took a few bad turns”.
To that I’d answer:
I was always spiraling upward.

In fact I now believe
I was actually following
a grand plan made for me:

in the darkness of disappointment
I finally saw what I truly needed
and stopped praying to the erratic god--
now I work to create 
a light strong enough to survive
whatever twists of fate await.

Yeah I know 
I’m still kinda dim
but I haven’t lost hope--
by continuing this upward course
I hope 
to one day be among those
who beam that beatific smile.

Two Types of Happiness

Recorded on September 18, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Heather Christle: "Mistake"

Recorded on October 23, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Howard Altmann: "After Hours"

Recorded on October 25, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Deborah Landau: from "Soft Targets"

Recorded on December 15, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Megan Levad: "Foundling"

Recorded on April 13, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

James Richardson: "Essay on the One Hand and on the Other"

Recorded on July 19, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Erika Meitner: "A Brief Ontological Investigation"

Recorded on July 26, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

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Janice N. Harrington: "Burn"

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I claim to be a novelist, poet, essayist, cartoonist, graphic artist, peace monger--and I'm trying to be a world citizen. As for my backstory...let's just say I've lived and worked all over the United States.  I'm self-taught, for the most part, which is like stumbling around blindfolded while looking for the right door.  It's an on-going process. Lacking any true musical ability, I try to make music with language, while also making meaning.  

Two Types of Happiness

mythsteps

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