happiness can be bought

they say that money cannot
buy happiness,
but I am here today to refute
that myth.
in my hand is a cheap
bamboo stick, $7.95 retail,
with a claw like monkey hand
end, made somewhere i'll
never visit. an island off the coast
of a country I can't pronounce
or find on a map.
with it I can reach any
portion of my dry back
that has an itch.
the joy and blessed
happiness that I get each
day from this
ingenious, potentially
nobel prize winning
back scratcher has put
a smile on my face,
a smile
not unlike the one I get
from loving you,
or a slice of deep dark
chocolate cake
washed down with a cold
glass of milk.