Happiness

The ultimate prize
So hard to find
In this crazy world
Of negativity

What do I do to become happy
With a smile on my face
Not painted, but genuine
Diamond pearly teeth
A crescent of joy
Gleaming in the light

Is it from the knowledge
That my children are all grown?
Fond memories of babies
Peering into their dark eyes
Wondering what they would become
I was wrong
They are so much more
Beautiful young women
About to face the world
With strength to conquer

Is it that the end of toil
Is nearly within sight?
The thought of that makes me giddy
With anticipation
Of days of freedom
Of days outside at cafés
As we watch pedestrians
In their own daily walks
Knowing we are finished
With the rulers of our time

Is it from looking back
At all the things I’ve done?
My mistakes
My recoveries
The good times
The bad
And all those in between
A mental scrapbook
Of memories
Dim and bright.

How do I define true happiness?
Acceptance of my fate?
An overwhelming rush of joy?
Or satisfied contentment
With my limited slice of time
In the place that I inhabit?
Anything more or less
Would be a risk I might have taken
If I were not happy with my life

Happy that I haven’t fully wasted it.