Happiness
by Jasper Braxton

Happiness is a fragile glass
Which I’m afraid to hold tight
It shatters in my hands and
The broken pieces hold reflections
Of sorrows I should have foreseen

My past is the jagged edges
Slicing afresh
My raw wounds
Compelling salty water to overflow
The windows to my soul

If I hold it just right, happiness
Is a pair of crystal wings
Lifting me upwards high
Dulling that history of hurt
That makes up my painful past

One wrong move and this
Carefree bird of hope shivers
The illusion smashes, splinters
Leaving me standing alone
Hopeless and helpless yet holding on

For the next fragile glass of
Happiness that fractures
Or if I’m lucky, morphs in to wings
Composed of whispered wishes
If only for this brief a while