Happiness Is Not a Warm Gun

Tanka times two of what adults can learn from children

Today, while reading A Gentleman in Moscow on my flight to Chicago, I underlined the quote below and turned to the back of the book to start composing

“If you are ever in doubt, just remember that unlike adults, children want to be happy. So they have the ability to take the greatest pleasure in the simplest things.” — from A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

to find wondrous joy
channel our childs within us
nous knows life is fun
simple pleasures in our grasp
when recall kinder wisdom

adults soon forget
whenever joy eludes them
want and we won’t wont
skip along singing a song
life’s melodies feel alright

Note I purposely played with a few words in the first stanza to create some double entendres. While writing the second stanza, a song came to mind — actually two songs — one did not fit the poem at all but I used it in the title to juxtapose meanings.

I also knew I had recently read a piece on Medium that echoed the poem. I reviewed my Medium library where I can see what I’ve highlighted and identified Jeff Barton’s, There’s Something About a Run in the Rain, as the essay bobbing in the back of my mind. It’s a great read, whether you’re a runner or…