Happiness [There’s just no accounting for happiness]
Audio Poem of the Day

Happiness [There’s just no accounting for happiness]

B2Upper-intermediateNovember 5, 20261 min

By Jane Kenyon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Sentence 6 of 12 · 0:23

And how can you not forgive?

,

which you saved for an occasion you could not imagine, and you weep night and day to

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B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 27%A2 36%B1 9%B2 18%C1 9%
  • 73% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 138 words a minute: a natural pace.
  • 16 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

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0:00

This audio poem is a production of PoetryFoundation.org. Happiness by Jane Kenyon There's just no accounting for happiness, or the way it turns up like a prodigal who comes back to the dust at your feet having squandered a fortune far away.

0:20

And how can you not forgive? You make a feast in honor of what was lost, and take from its place the finest garment which you saved for an occasion you could not imagine, and you weep night and day to know that you were not abandoned.

0:36

That happiness saved its most extreme form for you alone. No, happiness is the uncle you never knew about, who flies a single engine plane onto the grassy landing strip, hitchhikes into town, and inquires at every door until he finds you, asleep mid-afternoon as you so often are during the unmerciful hours of your despair.

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