CURIOUS CREATURE

A horribly misshapen freak

once came up to me

and said, "You seem down.

Why don't you cheer up?"

I asked him how

he could be so chipper,

disgustingly malformed and all,

and he shrugged

and said, "You just gotta decide

to be happy.

"You gotta have faith."

And I nodded

and I smiled

and I walked away

taking his words with me

and I promptly discarded them

at the next trash heap

as I went about my misery.

After all

what did he

a hideous monster

know about happiness?