Johanna Nauraine
Happiness
I have always thought happiness a silly word,
jaunty as a man's hat worn at an angle.
How could I take such a word seriously,
when it's associated with a rogue impulse like laughter—
or know it deeply
when its true character is irrepressible as flight?
Were it to land on me, I feared it would leave just as quickly.
In its place would be a sting, a welt, or something greater —
a canyon, deep and shadowed, that swallowed the sun.
Instead, it arrived surreptitiously,
sliding over me like a second skin.
I hardly recognized myself,
that woman with a smile in her step.
Bio
I am an Asian American writer who has been a serious student of fiction, nonfiction and poetry for decades. My work has been published in Bright Flash Literary Review, Bristol Noir, ASP Publishing, Vol. 11, Witcraft, The Pure Slush Anthology on Loss, Vol. 9, Discretionary Love, The Argyle Literary Magazine, BarBar and I have forthcoming publications in Haymaker Literary Journal and The Stray Branch, Winter, 2024. I'm a retired psychotherapist living in a little resort town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Additional examples of my work can be seen at: www.johannanauraine.com.