Happiness is like a leaf on a tree

One day it grows strong and bright

The next it’s crumbled on the ground, guaranteed-

Buried and disappeared in the dark of the night

 

It comes back to life when least expected

Stronger and greater- than ever before

Countless leaves around the world connected-

Taken by the wind from land to shore

 

They supply the world with smiles

The smiles that cure all pains and worries-

In all different shapes, stacked in piles.

Freeing people of all their hurries

 

Waiting to be picked up and cared for

By the person to whom they belong-

With a smile life is never a bore

With a smile there will be no wrong

 

Very delicate yet fierce, so strong

They might seem to have disappeared

But you shall find they were there all along

Happiness is NOT something to be feared

 

This poem has been written in the writing style of Emily Dickinson, mainly the poem “ hope is like a feather”. This poem uses two different types of comparisons just like many poems of Emily Dickinson. Metaphors are used by many of her poems, just as the poem hope is the thing with feathers where she uses a bird to symbolize hope creating different images in our minds. This poem tries to follow the same concept but then comparing happiness as a leaf on a tree. Just as Dickinson writes about the presence of hope in every person this poem explains the presence of happiness in every person. This is a type of extended metaphor that is continued through the entire poem, by the use of imagery in a positive way also it  encourages people to always keep believing in happiness since it is always there even if it might not be as clear at certain moments if life. This gives a similar message as the poem hope is like a feather. The second comparison is personification, this poem makes the leaf do human actions. For example in the line freeing people from all their hurries, a leaf cannot literary free people from their hurries but as the leaf symbolizes happiness it actually means that happiness can free them from their hurries. In this poem it is just portrayed as a leaf. There is also repetition of the first few words such as: with a smile on line 15 and 16 drawing the readers attention to these words since a smile also symbolizes happiness.  The first and last line also both start with the word happiness to clarify that this poem is about happiness a the leaf is simply a metaphor.  I decided to make the whole entire poem into the rhyme scheme a-b-a-b even though Dickinson had an irregular rhyme scheme of a-b-c-b then  a-b-a-b and then a-b-b-b. I thought that just doing a-b-a-b  would portray her writing style better. I thought this would even allow this poem to fit her style even better since the relationship between a serious concept with a simple element in nature would be portrayed in a better way. What hope is like a feather is mainly about. Hyphens are also used to clearly show where they reader needs to pause for a while. This tells the reader how they should read the poem. Dickinson uses capital letters to draw attention to specific words. This is also present in the last line when the word “NOT” is capitalized to let people think about what the meaning of that might be. The meaning could be that you would always experience the pleasure of being happy again. That you should not be scared that it is gone forever, just as a leaf it always comes back.