“happiness epidemic”
by david hernandez

without any warning, the disease
sweeps across the country
like a traveling circus.

people who were once blue,
who slouched from carrying
a bag of misery over one shoulder

are now clinically cheerful.
symptoms include kind gestures,
a bouncy stride, a smile

bigger than a slice of cantaloupe.
you pray that you will be infected,
hope a happy germ invades your body

and multiplies, spreading merriment
to all your major organs
like door-to-door christmas carolers

until the virus finally reaches your heart:
that red house at the end of the block
where your deepest wishes reside,

where a dog howls behind a gate
every time that sorrow
pulls his hearse up the driveway.

source: hernandez, david. “happiness epidemic.” casa poema. casa poem, n. d. web. 6 june 2011.

which poetic technique is illustrated throughout the entire poem “happiness epidemic“?

metonymy
onomatopoeia
conceit
allusion