HAPPINESS

As an aside, if you look at the word "happiness" long enough it starts looking suspiciously wrong-headed and you may wonder if it is misspelled, just as I wonder if "misspelled" is misspelled. It looks a little weird, as well. Who in the world thought it might be a good idea to take the word "happy", an adjective and turn it into a noun by eliminating the "y" which, by the way, gives the word itself a rather jaunty appearance, and replacing it with an "i" followed by "ness". Curiouser and curiouser. Yet another word that is looking rather, shall I say, curious.

HAPPINESS

I am not happy

Only part of the time

The other part

Is less than happy, yet

More than not

Happy, that is

Not, not happy

Yet, not, happy.

 Flip book smiles

Smirks, herky jerks

Strobe

Off and on

Off and on

And I, with my

Half-empty glass

Reflect on something

Or nothing,

Which must be

 Something,

It’s all perception

A squint, a sizing up

A startled look into

Half-happy eyes