THE HAPPIEST PLACE

Hey, y’all.

For Day 25 of National Poetry Writing Month is to:

Write a poem based on the “Proust Questionnaire,” a set of questions drawn from Victorian-era parlor games, and adapted by modern interviewers. You could choose to answer the whole questionnaire, and then write a poem based on your answers, answer just a few, or just write a poem that’s based on the questions. You could even write a poem in the form of an entirely new Proust Questionnaire. We have a fairly standard, 35-question version of the questionnaire laid out for you below.

Happy writing!

• What is your idea of perfect happiness?

• What is your greatest fear?

• What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

• What is the trait you most deplore in others?

• Which living person do you most admire?

• What is your greatest extravagance?

• What is your current state of mind?

• What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Here is my poem:

THE HAPPIEST PLACE

By Farah Lawal Harris, 2024

Sitting on my deck at 2 pm

with a breeze blowing on my bald head,

birds chirping loudly,

and sun dripping all over me.

I stare at the sky

and instead of asking “Why?”

I whisper, “Thanks”

and drop tears as tithes.

God is exalted

and so am I.