Are you happy now?
she asked, and I said
Yes, I think so,
even though I knew
she was not really
asking me, so much as
sighing inwardly
and outwardly
at something I’d
done or said. But this
was before I was an
expert reader of tone,
before I had all the
translations, the full
glossary of human emotion,
which I now carry around
with me all the time
and can never put down
even though it’s heavy.
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For the PAD Chapbook Challenge, Day 6. Prompt: Happy now.
Marilyn Rauch Cavicchia 
Your version is a grown-up one of mine. I am not worthy😄
Aww, thanks! But yes, you are worthy. It’s interesting to read ours as a pair. When I read yours, I thought, “See, here’s someone who can write a happy poem and not have it come out all wry and bitter.” 🙂 I really enjoyed yours.