And there is even a happiness
That makes the heart afraid.
Thomas Hood
Imagine that you were
once a very small boy
who wanted something
so desperately that he
dreamed about it almost
every night but believed
that he would never
actually possess it
because to have this thing
would be too wonderful
to ever really happen
but one day he got it
anyway and it was even
better than he expected,
better than he imagined
it could possibly be,
and he couldn't believe
how lucky he was
just to have this thing
and then it became broken,
not through carelessness
or negligence but just
because these things happen,
and he was in pieces also
and wanted to die
but didn't and eventually
became this grown man
who, every morning, issues
a trite admonition
about driving carefully
to a woman who smiles,
returns his embrace
and goes to work thinking
it's just a pleasant ritual.
