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I turned the pages of an old fairy story while watching the wind ripple the flowering trees, sighing,
"I have no worries in this place, and that means I am happy."
These days, I write my own fiction and fables, running away with emotion and thinking,
"I have no worries in this place, for just as I create these sentences, I forge my own harmony wherever I am."
I hiked to the highest elevation I've yet to experience in my travels, and thought to myself,
"I made it to the top, I am happy."
Now I sit and remember,
"I made to the top where the world looked so small, so today I am without fear."
I ran and tumbled through fragrant, rolling hills of green and on the plane returning home, I wished,
"I'm going to live there someday because that will make me happy."
Thinking of all the distant and unknown places I have yet to meet, I consider,
"I'm going to live there someday because all the Earth is my home and peace accompanies an open mind."
I walked miles along empty trails through a golden prairie and sang out loud, out of tune,
"I'm doing this alone, where no one can see me, and I feel happy."
As I paint my memories of that solitary place, the colors speak,
"I'm doing this alone, where no one can see me, and I can finally feel my own perfection."
I was lucky to find a beautiful old soul I knew in a previous life, and in time, I thought,
"I love this person who makes me happy."
Now I look into his eyes before he falls asleep, and whisper,
"I love this person who knows my heart and tells me to grow."
I watched my mom suffer for weeks in pain, helpless, and when she began to recover, I breathed,
"My mom is still alive and therefore I am happy."
When I hear her laughter again as she arranges flowers in a vase, I say a prayer,
"My mom is still alive and with this second chance, I will return the love she has given me."
I stood feeling the desperate winds of a storm, and rejoiced when I was spared,
"Everything fragile was saved, so I am happy."
Looking around at the pieces of my life that I want, but do not need, I think,
"Everything fragile was saved so I can begin to value the intangible and crave the unseen."
I sat on a sunset-washed beach, listening to the crying of the sea, shedding tears along with it,
"When I see such beauty, I am filled with happiness."
Now every sunset I witness with teary eyes invites me to speak,
"When I see such beauty, I honor it forever by conjuring the same flood of bliss on dark days."
I saw stars scattered like broken crystals in the darkest of skies, and cried out,
"If I never see another night after this, I will still be happy."
On evening walks, I look up to search for the same constellations, grateful,
"If I never see another night after this, I've lived my days with purpose and all will be okay."
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- Faren Rebecca Rajkumar