I vow to be an optimist, that’s what I’m going to do
The next time that you see me, I’ll be smiling back at you
My positive demeanour will be uncrushable
When others’ are half empty, my glass will always be half full
When others see the problems, I’ll see opportunities
I’ll weather storms and crises that bring others to their knees
I’ll see colour and delight when others paint the world as grey
When everything seems hopeless, I’ll just find another way

I’ll be cheerful to the point at which it starts to irritate
I’ll be famous as the bloke who smiles, no matter what his state
It won’t matter if I’m poorly, overworked or underpaid
I’ll be contented with my lot in life – it’s just the way I’m made
I’ll concentrate on what I have instead of what I lack
And when the buggers grind me down, I’ll grind the buggers back
But not, of course, with malice – oh no, that would never do
You have to treat them just the way you’d like them to treat you
My cheerfulness will be relentless, you’ll start to wonder what I’m on
Every time you think it’s fading, I’ll smile again, and you’ll be wrong

I will start a brand new movement, we will take the world by storm
We will smile at those who mock us, and laugh in the face of scorn
We’ll banish all unhappiness, we’ll cancel every debt
World hunger we’ll eradicate, every basic need be met
We’ll have a go at journalists and wipe the smiles off of the face
Of the ones who take delight in someone else’s fall from grace
We’ll round up all celebrities, the ones who make you sick
And cloak them in obscurity and poke them with a stick

And if all of this sounds far too much for one poor chap to do
You’ll be quite right and that is why I’m asking help from you
Just take the smile I offer, and add some sparkle of your own
Then pass it on, and very soon you’ll find that it has grown
And as it multiplies, and then it multiplies again
There’ll be no room for frowning, nor for crying, nor for pain

I know it’s quite a lot to ask, some days it’s hard to do
But, just for me, give it a whirl – you might enjoy it too
So that’s my resolution for the New Year just begun
A modest plan to change the world – I’ll tell you when it’s done
My aspirations might seem like little more than fantasy
But I’ve got to start from somewhere, so I guess I’ll start with me.

© Keith Miller, January 2014