The pursuit of Happyness
is not a straightforward path
signposted clearly for each of us
to follow to our heart’s content
Stumbling on happiness
is nearer the mark – a series of
Happy Accidents amidst the
inevitable unhappy stumbles
One person’s happiness
is another’s purgatory
so distrust universal guides
like The art of happiness
Happiness cannot be regulated
and a Ministry of utmost happiness
would never dare be adopted by
any government for fear of failure
to meet the metrics and achieve even
More happy than not let alone promise
a triple locked happiness
quota for all…
Happiness is a choice asserts
Neil Kaufman but try telling that
to one who is not
Stumbling on Happinesss
and can happiness be described
without reference to it’s opposite
The Happy Prince is a tale that
will leave you moved to tears
So when you find your own source of
happiness, don’t proselytise for it
to be universally adopted but
carry your flame wrapped in your heart…
© Andrew Wilson, 2025
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Punam – paeansunplugged in Poetics, Uncategorized, invites us to write about Happiness and offers a series of titles which we may choose to use one or more of – not wanting to make any of the authors feel left out and unhappy, I went for all of them…
1.The pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardener
2. Happy Accidents: A memoir by Jane Lynch
3. The ministry of utmost happiness by Arundhati Roy
4. Stumbling on happiness by Daniel Todd Gilbert
5. The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
6. The art of happiness by the Dalai Lama
7. More happy than not by Adam Silvera
8. Happiness is a choice by Neil Kaufman
Well done, Andrew for using all the titles and not making any of the authors feel left out and unhappy! Happiness is indeed not straightforward, more a series of stumbles. It made me smile that you couldn’t resist a little mention of politics in these lines:
‘More happy than not let alone promise
a triple locked happiness
quota for all’.
You know me well, Kim 😂 glad you enjoyed it…
Very nice use of the prompt, Andrew!
Thanks Dwight…
Love that you integrated all the titles… I especially love the thought that happiness can never be on other people’s expense…
Thanks Bjorn, I didn’t write till the morning and it took me half-an-hour to work all the titles in, but I always wonder how you manage to post first each time – you must write really quickly 😮
Andrew, I’m so happy you were able to use all of the book titles. What a feat.
Thanks Colleen – it seemed only fair…
A personalized mission statement that checks a lot of boxes, Andrew. It feels like you are speaking from the heart.
You hit the nail on the head Li, I didn’t set out to write a personal manifesto but that is what emerged from the titles…
PS – I have ordered a copy of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, even though it may not be a very happy book…
Wow, Andrew! If we were allowed to give prizes, you would win the first prize for using all the titles to make such a heartfelt statement. Lovely! I am smiling as I write this. Thank you. 😊
Thank you so much for your fulsome comment, Punam – glad it made you smile…
Beautiful use of the prompt, Andrew! I love your inclusion of all the authors.
Thank you Sara, I wasn’t sure that I would use them all but once I started, I couldn’t stop…