Chana Bloch: Happiness Research
Scientists are closing in on
the crowded quarter of the brain
where happiness lives. They like to think
it’s hunkered down in the left prefrontal cortex.
Linda Parsons: Two Poems for Christmas
the light hasn’t always been easy to find—
haloed fires of childhood, my walk
on coals to the marriage pyre, parents
passed to flame and ash. All have sparked
the change ahead, all have lit the way.
Michael Simms: Jubilate
Now I shall praise our dog Josie
the bodhisattva of our household
the perfect embodiment
of devotion, always present
in spontaneous awe
Donna Hilbert: Credo
I believe in the Tuesdays
and Wednesdays of life,
the tuna sandwich lunches
and TV after dinner.
Barbara Crooker: Happiness
This is all there is: the red cherries, the green leaves,
sky like a pale silk dress, and the rise and fall
of the sweet breeze.
Wendy Mnookin: The Public Garden
The sun is shining and I’m content
to be myself, walking across the Common
as families queue up by the Swan Boats,
real swans parting the water
in elegant wakes.
James Crews: Small Moments
The world is not made only of sorrow
and heartbreak. Something always
slips through the gaps of a given day
Gary Fincke: Anniversary
“Gary, just you wait,”
My mother promised me ten thousand times,
And I did until this moment, saying
That I’ve woken, love, to some happiness
Sandy Solomon: Metaphoric
Like leaves to sun, people in the room turned
toward her when she appeared at the door—
plain as metaphor—beaming.
Elizabeth Romero: Happiness
I live in a pink truck at the edge of the sky.
Elsa Gidlow: A Happy Song
Heaped sweets and a treasure
For a new sin to play with,
To pass a night and day with––
Heaped sweets for a pleasure.
Rachel Hadas: That Patch of Warmth
August. Midday. Look up: flawless sky
until a cloud sprouts; sidles; suddenly
blots out the sun. Wind troubles the trees
Wendy Mnookin: Celebration
I’ll fill my wedding vase
with deep-veined lilies, harlot asters,
pollen will dust the table
where I mass them every week.
Video: Miracle Jones | The Radical, Revolutionary Resilience of Black Joy
In the face of trauma, happiness is resilience: a revolutionary act of thriving despite all odds, rather than wilting or surrendering. Community organizer and activist Miracle Jones offers a heart-to-heart … Continue reading
