Around eighty years we worked on a solution. Sleepless nights, dried tears, chapped lips. So many words we spilled on the question:

‘How to conquer sadness?’

The ultimate power. He who wields it triumphs over all. Tirelessly we worked, searched, asked, from the moment our minds were opened to the pain.

Tirelessly we fought. We found happiness, sadness, some peace in between.

Now, on our death beds, we look one another in the eye. They are wet with tears; the sadness has found us once again.

And finally, we know to welcome it. A warm embrace melts the cold.

‘Yes,’ we say, ‘I get sad sometimes.’

And we can finally cry. The tears dry out before our years.

Now, they are gone. Now, we can smile.

6.X.2024