Happiness Poem by Melanie Thomas

I want to put it on a pedestal,
raise it like a banner, blazoned
in bright blue.
I want to run with it, fly with it,
play with its kite, race headlong through a field
of raucous red poppies rejoicing its tune.
I want to grab its shiny handle
and ride tandem through this town,
aerosol its portrait to the tallest wall,
in tribute, a multi-coloured mural,
sing out its loudest song in the village hall,
scoop it up in buttercups, let it rise
like a new loaf.

I’ll send it up high in a hot-air balloon,
scatter it like coloured confetti on those passers-by
who look up
and wave back in wonder.
Packed in a picnic, dipped like soft strawberries into cream.
I’ll parade myself in its silk scarf,
take it for a night out on the town,
leave the splash of its scent on my skin.
I’ll unwrap it from a gilded box and admire its honesty,
but mostly,
I'll sew its laughter into the lining
of my best dress, put it in my pocket for another day.