Do you believe in laughter held in truth,
In knowing that words spoken find their mark,
That a look, a touch, the gentlest hand may form
A smile that grows within, ignites a spark?
Do you believe that gladness grows inside,
Overflows to others open to
Receiving joy as recompense for living
When its trials and labours overwhelm and threaten you?
Do you believe that hurting ends in time,
That inner worlds are balanced by all love,
That questions yet unanswered cause a thrill,
Their discoveries a golden treasure trove?
Do you believe that somewhere inside light
The heart of matter hides a great reveal,
That nothing happens without cause effect
And perceptions make our own world feel what’s real?
Do you believe that logos is the word
Or that words alone confuse a greater thought,
That lips that speak the lies betray the way
And sometimes guidance dwells in what’s not sought?
Do you believe in fairies and in trolls,
In monster lochs where hidden depths conceal,
Do you believe in equine wings and angels,
In many wondrous stories though unreal?
Do you believe in suspending disbelief
To enter into fantasies that pleasure
While still inside you know factual from dream
But recognise you owe some childlike measure?
Do you believe that living is worth living,
That each breath you take admits a purpose here,
That nothing’s yet decided or completed
And that only you can change your greatest fears?
Do you believe in worlds you find in books,
In scenes unfolding on the movie screen,
In comic superheroes who astound,
Unveiling attributes too rarely seen?
Do you believe the essence of all stories
Conveys some truth distilled to purest form,
That much of what we honour most in tales
Are aspirations we would wish as norm?
Do you believe that children hold the key,
That complications thwart our best intentions,
That simplicity and innocence are essential to all meaning
To underwrite and clarify the best of lessons?
I do.