Happiness

Happiness was only a word to me-
                   I'd forgotten it's definition.

I used to know what happiness meant;
Chocolate, bedtime stories, pretty princesses, love, and an unbroken spirit.
                   _{{But that was then}}

All too soon,
The childhood happiness S M AS H ED into shreds of nothing but br o ke n memories.
Sca tt ere d, to/rn, l   o    s    t, all out on the floor.
                     _{{& I got a taste of death}}

I died inside on that day,
I irrevocably changed;  forever.
& I never knew if I would ever taste the s w e e t n e s s of happiness again.

Then he came along,
And he seemed so strong-
Strong enough for me to hold onto.
_{{& hold I did.
         I gripped on tight; didn't l e t  g o}}

I started to get better,
I started to s m i l e;
Yet he chose a path that I could not follow him on.
That's when I realized,
                                 I had to let him g o.

Long hard and difficult was the process,
But I did it anyway;
Even though some of my h e a r t shattered again that day.
   _{{I kept praying someday I'd be okay}}

My life became l o n e l y and d r e a r y,
Disappointing;automatic,
But then I got sick and tired,
Of being sick and tired,
So I decided that happiness was m i n e for the taking.

I began to improve,
But something was still m i s s i n g,
Something that I was still looking for,
Something I was still n e e d i n g.

Suddenly;
You came into my life and re-showed me what happiness was like.
You fixed my bro ken heart and made me whole again.

And now I remember the innocent childlike happiness I had o n c e before;
_{{Chocolate, bedtime stories, pretty princesses, love, and an unbroken spirit.}
                   [But that was then]}

And now baby, looking in your e y e s,
I feel a new kind of happiness,
It's  found a new definition.

H a p p i n e s s;
Love, a healed, racing heart, the m a g i c of words.
& feeling like one of the pretty princesses who found her prince charming.
  _{{You're my happiness}
       [& This is now]}