Poetry for Tuesday

"She is raging
She is aging (Bono sings 'aging' in Rattle and Hum)
And the storm blows up in her eyes
She will...

Suffer the needle chill
She is running to stand...still"

U2's "Running to Stand Still"

I am not a heroin addict, but we have all felt this way. You look in the mirror. You are old. Your world is collapsing. You are angry. You are tired. But nothing ever changes.

"Happiness" by Carl Sandburg
"I asked professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me what is happiness.

And I went to famous executives who boss the work of thousands of men.

They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though I was trying to fool with them.

And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the Desplaines river

And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion."

Is ignorance a key to happiness? Beer and accordions are not enough for me. But the poem reminds me that happiness is probably simpler than I think.