Hello!
It is that time of the year when all the poets sharpen their tools to begin the month-long marathon, National Poetry Writing Month or NaPoWriMo, as it is popularly called.
This is my 9th year of participation, and I am excited to be a part of it!
I am hosting the NaPoWriMo again this year at the Asian Literary Society community page on FB, and will be writing to these prompts myself.
Here’s the prompt and may take for the day.
Prompt: “Happiness is an inside job.”
I have initiated my poem with the words of Rumi, “In the dance of life, happiness is the rhythm that sets our hearts free.”
Poem: The Rhythm of Happiness
“In the dance of life, happiness is the rhythm that sets our hearts free.”
But what is the secret path to happiness?
Where do I find this unique bird of emotion?
How do I tune myself to its rhythm?
—
The world outside of my existence,
Offering countless means and ways of subsistence,
Some meaningful relations, some meaningless expeditions,
How can I embrace those with my heart fidgeting for balance?
—
The more I chase it, the more it extends its horizon.
Multifarious, multifaceted paths of its illusion–
Promising happiness as the ultimate outcome,
But is happiness truly a destination? Does it signify the journey’s end?
—
The journey that began with happiness in my heart,
As I believed I was an extension of the Universe.
The belief that got submerged in the ocean of life,
With time, it left me bereft of meaning in life.
—
From the outer world, I decided to avert my eyes,
To unearth the truth of happiness that lay inside,
The ecstasy of existence, I began to understand,
It was all about revelling in the bliss of being!
—
‘As within, so without’–the mantra of happiness that silenced my din
Regrets, accusations, jealousy, expectations–
All the barometers became immaterial,
When the connotation of happiness changed to bliss within!
—
In the dance of life, I found that rhythm–
The rhythm of happiness that set my heart free!
—
©Vandana Bhasin
01.04.2025
