Joy Comes Back

When you finally realize that joy

is less fireworks
more firefly

less orchestra
more birdsong

she will come back much more often

for joy will not fight
with the fast pace of this life

she dallies not in the shiny or the new

she breathes in the basic
shimmers in the simple
and dances in the daily to-and-fro

joy has been beckoning you

for many a year my friend

you were just too busy doing, to see

the very next time joy wraps 

her quiet warmth around you

as the garden embraces your weary body

in its wildness

tip her a nod

you cannot force her to stay

but if you are a gracious host

joy comes back.

Donna Ashworth