If you ask me of happiness

I will tell you I lived by the sea

And had died three times over

Before I gave its scent a body

Did I know then, the meaning of abundance

To jump in the water to splash it at my kin

Delight that it wouldn’t end

And hear family warn me that so vast so greedy the sea

That it would steal me if lacked care

I confess I never believed it

I had known greed because I had died three times before

In the dawn in the moonlight and the midday

The waters’ only sin had been giving themselves too much

If you asked me of happiness I would tell you of this sin

And I will tell you

Of this mother who sings a lullaby

With no radio or village to share

The sounds the words the kindness

All of which she slowly forgets

So she hums

Promising me and herself

Of happiness to come

Also on songs I will remember

Slow elephant herd that carried friends from school

My chasing their merciful pace

As one Bluetooth transfer turns to three

And of those few 200 megabytes of storage

Three songs were given by me

But that is not all

The herd had slowed

Even with the abundance of tomorrows back then

It slowed enough to say goodbye

On sea too I will tell you

I have never dreamed of happiness such as

What I feel today

And it started with a sibling telling me

Of how our bodies bear our pain

How the gut the brow the heart all of these crumple

But then

Love too is stored in our bones as we steward it

And oh, to be one with a thing so beautiful

That can’t wait to go where it belongs

A kiss a hug the arms of its creator

And so I will tell you

That home is not a place but a moment

And the waters I claim

Live only tomorrow when I’ll next see them

And if you ask me of happiness?

I, like my favourite poems, will tell you

My children have a family that spans the world

I am rich in lullabies and I remember their words

We sing together

I know greed yet met boundless abundance

I’ve much to give

And we sin together

So much space was I offered that I count it in songs no more

And in between kisses, hugs, and my arms

I will tell you of happiness

Not as a promise but as the woman who gives it.