When the Sun Teaches Us How to Feel: A Simple Poem with a Quiet Awakening
What if joy didn’t need a reason—only a moment of noticing? This short poem invites us to rethink happiness the way sunlight falls: effortlessly, without explanation.
The Sun
John Drink
I told the Sun that I was glad,
I’m sure I don’t know why;
Somehow the pleasant way he had
Of shining in the sky,
Just put a notion in my head
That wouldn’t it be fun
If, walking on the hill, I said
“I’m happy” to the Sun.
Reflection
John Drink’s The Sun reminds us that not all happiness needs a grand cause. The speaker isn’t celebrating a victory, a milestone, or a miracle—just the simple warmth of sunlight and the impulse to speak their gladness aloud. In a world that trains us to justify joy (“Why are you so happy?”), this poem gently suggests: maybe happiness doesn’t need defending.
The poem also shows how nature can draw emotion up from within us—how something as ordinary as sunlight can unlock an inner “yes” to life. The act of saying “I’m happy” to the Sun almost feels like a quiet ritual of gratitude, spoken not to be heard, but to be felt. It’s a reminder that sometimes the world doesn’t need to change for us to feel better—only our attention does.
Maybe the sun doesn’t just shine on us—it invites us to shine back.
Have you ever felt happy for no particular reason, just because something simple—like sunlight, birdsong, or a breeze—stirred it in you? What was that moment like?