I see it there, I see the tops of it's gleaming parapets over the next rise
It's bright lights gleaming seductively, calling to me, just a few more steps
Sometimes I think I can make out the name, a fuzzy H maybe is that a P I think I see an S too
My lungs burn with the effort
My legs on fire, jellied by my constant trudging
I'm this close though, I can swear I hear the hustle and bustle
Mr Softee tilting address
The sounds of summer, giddy children
Dogs are barking, cars humming and life continuing on
my windburned face and sun baked visage an unnoticed stranger
I'm on the road not yellow bricks but blistering asphalt
but that's progress. First it was dirt, then gravel and now pitch
already I imagine the errands I am about to run
first I need to find a comfy seat with some good food
a tasty beverage to kick the dust bunnies out of my dehydrated throat
You know a new pair of shoes would be nice
as trust worthy as my current foot wear has been it is just as travel weary as I
I can make out the sign better now
I almost thought it read peace but no
It reads happiness and I am almost
the wind blows dust into my face and I sneeze violently
my eyes close and my head starts ringing
I wipe and open my eyes ready to continue my joyful thoughts
only to see
to see
a ghost town laid out in front of me
I still hear the sounds, I even have the smell of some good pie in my nose
but the town I am on the road for is no longer happiness
happiness it seems is still in the distance
this town is despair
I look around me, blink a few times, even shake my head in case it is a trick
My feet still ache
the jello attached to them wobble slowly forward
and my lungs belch dusty pain
but I do not have time for despair
I started this walk to happiness and dammit happiness is where I am going to be
