A Poem: Unhappiness

Everyone could turn unhappy

from being cheerful, abruptly.

The sudden change of

face and mood,

like a stone thrown in a pond

a ripple after another —

in concentric circles.

Or like a leaf

swayed by a passing wind

shivery and contagious —

another leaf infected

soon the tree shudders

as though the forest

caught a cold

in the innocent

Autumn breeze.