Happiness

Through two decades of decadence we hunted fun,
familiar from explorers' tales, sighted among
the city clubs and bars, cornered and then captured
by shots of alcohol but shrivelled to dust when dead.
We found the fields where joy and jubilation thrived
but scissored flowers withered and did not survive;
we conquered distant mountains where excitement peaked
but soured to anticlimax in the following week;
we panned for nuggets of enjoyment in the streams
and mined the dark for hints of adult pleasure dreams;
we struck rich veins of entertainment underground
but mainly they just aimed to shock or to astound;
we played at passion, toyed with thrills and broke taboos
but always with the values we let others choose.
They sold unmissable adventures, awesome sights,
incredible activities, fantastic nights,
enough events to stoke some older folks' resentment
but even then they couldn't guarantee contentment.
Such transient events give only fleeting fun
and stimulate to further fixes once begun
for they themselves aren't longer lasting happiness
which isn't anywhere for sale and even less
for purchase on the sly. Instead that must be earned
by honest self-examination till we've learned
to value satisfaction of a chore well done,
the savour of a game played well although not won,
some job fulfilment, comradeship at work (for some),
maturity to be a father or a mum,
the overall delight of children through the years
and how to cope with sorrow, grief and tears.
Yet what conduces most to happiness that lasts
is still the magic between man and woman past
infatuation through reliability
and trust to sexual companionship. If we
achieve that fortunate state, then happiness is what
we hardly notice like the unvalued bedrock
in which precious stones are found, the dull support
of mounts for glittering jewels. Always men have thought
what constitutes true happiness - it's just perhaps
the background music to life, unnoticed till it stops.
And so to end with something snappy -
happiness is when you're not unhappy !