They say happiness is contagious

This is true, I know,

When one smile goes around,

The compliment begins to flow.

Love is everywhere, once the mouth turns up,

Everyone is wonderful, no evil can be found,

It creates a chain reaction,

Which goes on for miles around.

But there is a different virus,

One that I always fear,

It starts deep in the soul

And can erupt anywhere, Namely, here.

It is as catchy and as horrid

As the H1N1 scare,

It is, as you might have guessed, the bad attitude terror.

It might start as merely a glare,

But makes one jump up in anger.

Snide words are exchanged,

Angry voices are raised, the solution is nowhere to be found.

Screaming and crying may begin, as the fighters become enraged.

It seems as though everyone has lost their mind.

And while this show takes place,

The bad-attitude bug will take root

In someone's soul, even one so heavenly, it might just have lace,

And the process repeats and multiplies.

You may be thinking, "Oh dear,

What can I do do to make it so

I will never make this unsightly scene appear?"

The answer may seem simple,

But in truth, it may be the hardest thing one has done,

When you find your temper rising, the anger, it will ripple,

Danger seems inevitable,

But the beast will be forced to stay

It will feel impossible, but I promise,

No harm can be done if on your lips, a smile will play.

Beat the darkness rising to dull your judgment

Apologize, if careless words slipped out, And your enemy will fight the devil as well.

The people around you

Will look on in wonder, as their hearts swell,

The smile replaces the fiendish bad attitude bug,

And around the world, happiness is spread once again.