Laughter in Emptiness

Yusuf Achmad

Emptying the mind is the path to happiness,
Like a pearl of wisdom or something similar, what is happiness?
Vague and endless, neither starting nor stopping, not like a long thread,
For a thread, no matter how long, is measured, unlike floating happiness.

Not as if it’s blissful to float, only to be seen,
I walk, chasing uncertain happiness,
Sought, awaited, even hunted, sometimes with bullets,
With money, with tears, or a soul for the sake of happiness.

Happiness is not cheap, they say, or sold at a bargain for the wise, they say,
I run, trying to grasp, is happiness worth money or must a soul float away?
What is the meaning of happiness if it’s bound to the soul or rupiah value?
Ah, rambling can be happiness, like those without reason.

I smile, laugh in emptiness,
Though deemed mad, heading to void, ignoring other realms.
That is happiness, they say, flowing in the soul without limits.

Surabaya, 28-12-2024