Dreams of Joy

It could be someone

you never had the courage

to love, holding you

in the night.

Or talking all night

with a lifelong friend,

both of you lucid and hungry,

the talk peeling, not adding up,

but peeling into uncontrollable

laughter and the smell

of honey.

It could be swimming

deeper than ever, alongside

iridescent fish, copying

their wriggle for light.

Or taking something apart so

thoroughly—a car, a watch—that

it never has to be put together

again, and you, caught in the

joy of the thing dismantled.

It could be righting a turtle

and watching it stare at you

before receding in its shell.

Or righting yourself

and staring at the world.

A Question to Walk With: In conversation with a friend or loved one, describe what joy means to you. How does joy show up in your life? Can you do anything to help this happen?

This is from my book of poems, The Way Under the Way.

AUG 26-28: Mercy By the Sea, 167 Neck Rd, Madison CT, weekend workshop, Reclaiming Our Humanity: Being Fierce and Tender in Our Call to Love, Fri 7-9:30PM EST Sat 9:30-5:30PM EST, Sun 9:30-1230PM, (web link) –
IN PERSON

SEPT 11: Mark Nepo in Conversation with Brooke Warner, Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity, 1-2:30PM PST/4-5:30PM EST, FREE, register at the legendary bookstore Book Passage, (web link) — ONLINE

SEPT 16-18: Friday Night Reading and Weekend Retreat (Sat and Sun), Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity, The Sophia Institute, Charleston, SC, or call 843-720-8528, (web link) — IN PERSON & ONLINE

OCT 28-30: Harmony Hill Retreat Center, Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity, A Weekend Retreat, (web link) — IN PERSON