THE VANISHING MOMENT OF HAPPINESS

He enters the world at 15 pounds.

Father never forgives him

for skewering his mom

and gives him up for adoption.

Sorrow takes root in his soul.

He’s only happy somewhere else.

He is unable to look within,

and has never known stillness.

He makes plans, prefers the idea

of travel more than the trip.

His smile disappears as soon

as he finishes unpacking.

Never present for the moment

of experience, he takes pictures

to remind him where he’s been.

Not at home in his skin,

his heart never opens to another.

A fish out of water, he clings to dry land.

He sleeps with the TV on, and doesn’t know

he’s in a deep sleep of a life without love.

Detached from all sensation,

he will never feel the softness

of milkweed floss or sense

the scent of new mown hay.

He will never surrender

to the deliciousness

of unbridled lust.

If only he could live

in that vanishing moment.