Skip to content

Scottish Poetry Library

Register/Sign in
Shopping Bag Shopping Bag
Bringing people and poems together
  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Re-Opening FAQ
  • Poetry
    • Poems
    • Poets
    • Our National Poet
    • Podcasts
    • Best Scottish Poems
    • Poetry and Mindfulness
    • Champions 2020
    • Posters
    • Publishers
  • Library
    • Become a borrower
    • Catalogue
    • Collections
    • Ask a librarian
    • Copyright enquiries
  • Learning
    • National Poetry Day 2019
    • National Poetry Day archive
    • SQA set texts
    • Learning resources
    • New to poetry?
    • Advice for poets
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Exhibitions
    • Venue hire
    • List an event
  • Shop
    • National Poetry Day 2020
    • New Titles
    • Poetry Pamphlet Cards
    • Pocket Poets
    • Scottish Poetry
    • Help
  • About us
    • Our story
    • Our people
    • Our projects
    • Jobs
    • Our building
    • FAQs
    • Find us
  • Support us
    • Become a Friend
    • Donate
    • Easy Fundraising
  • Blog
Shopping BagShopping Bag
Ask a librarian
  • Home
  • >
  • Poetry
  • >
  • Stephen Keeler
  • >
  • (Born With) All The Happiness You Will Ever Need
Donate Donate icon Ask a Librarian Ask a Librarian icon

(Born With) All The Happiness You Will Ever Need

Stephen Keeler

After Sam Riviere

an early Beatles’ lyric on a Sunday afternoon
that’s yellow as an egg-yolk
bright as a blackbird’s eye
and through the window Hillman Minxes
and the two-tone Austin Thirteen Hundreds
dropping out of sight
in line across the humpback bridge
become a fairground ride
beside the saltsprayed peeling whelk-stall
where the Portobello teddy boys displaced
are leaning and avoided and buffoon
and leer and keep checking their reflections
in each others’ plastic sunglasses
as though in search of something unidentified
with nervousness and anger and
with telstar and the waltzer
screaming hi-ho silver lining
as the two of you delirious with a dedication

you’ll recall when you’ve forgotten

all the words to all the songs

undress each other in the half-light


Stephen Keeler

Tags:

memory music

About this poem

This poem was chosen by Aoife Lyall as part of the Scottish Poetry Library’s ‘Champions’ project, a guest curatorship programme to help extend our national reach.

Lyall says, ‘Stephen’s poem is one of energy and dynamism and exuberance: it captures a moment full of vitality and is unafraid to recognise both the joy and sadness such personal revelations offer.’

Keeler says, ‘I nurture a sort of theory (too grand a term, really) that we are born with everything we’re ever going to need, and maybe everything we’re ever going to have. Happiness is there to be recognised or ignored or squandered or abused… and I’m not sure that we have much say in what happens to it.’

Watch

Share this
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Learn more

Stephen Keeler

Stephen Keeler is an award-winning poet based in Ullapool, whose work is widely published in magazines, journals and online. He received a Scottish Book Trust New Writing Award in 2015. His pamphlet While You Were Away is published by Maquette Press,...
More about Stephen Keeler

Online Shop

Browse our range of poetry books, cards and gifts in our online shop.
Shop now

Podcasts

Our audio programme of poets, poems and news for you to listen to.
Listen Now
  • Newsletter signup
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Scottish Poetry Library
5 Crichton's Close, Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Tel: +44 (0)131 557 2876
© Scottish Poetry Library 2021.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
City of Edinburgh logo Green Arts Initiative logo Creative Scotland logo
By leaves we live

The Scottish Poetry Library is staffed weekdays from 10am – 2pm and is providing a limited service including postal loans and Click & Collect. For details, click COVID-19 in the menu bar above. Dismiss