Searching for Contentment

Searching for Contentment

Sometimes a cloud

hangs over me.
Over my happiness.
My sanity.

I look at it too long
and make something of it.
Or I swat at it as if
it were a fly
but my fingers pass
right through
the vapor
of that cloud and I
miss the pest of
emotion.

The sting of a bite
and a few half-hearted tries
awaken me to realize
I must focus my intention.

I fold my fingers into
a hollow cup,
aim for the center,
and this pass is
effective.
My positive efforts,
my intentions,
dissipate the cloud.

The fog lifts,
I see
the brightness of
contentment.

Marsha Salerno
March 2009