She looked it over

She looked it over

Although the verse was nice

It was a little sad.

As if sadness was a disease

To be avoided

Like the plague or bad breath.

I suggested the madness

In believing happiness

Was a good thing

With a world in disarray,

Turning a blind eye to it

Striving to unsee

The balance of nature

Lies in equal measure,

Might be a sadder thing.

To be healthy

Happiness is fleeting

What if sadness was the last refuge

Of the optimist

The smile at the end of a rainbow

A sigh in the breath of a breeze

The fresh smell of rain

That fell as cats

Chasing dogs,

When the air was purged

Of its impurities.

The aged crinkle when a smile

Reaches the eyes

The last streak of light

Before the sun sets

The sparkle of a full moon

Rippling in a dark sea

Endlessly waiting.

The niggle of a conscience

When temptation calls

For an easy answer

The last words of a good book

The pain of leaving home

For your own space.

Losing a valued friend,

Finding your own feet

When the world turns upside down.

Waking from a restless sleep

Forgetting a nightmare

When it seemed so important

To know what it meant

To feel something

Other than indifference.

What if sadness was

Proof of a life lived

The profit of loss

The reason for being

The twist in a tale of despair

Not a disease

But a human trait

And a last vestige

Of hope

For a world in disrepair.