Consent to joy –
don’t ask it to prove itself  –
consent to it
and you will see it rise
like wisps of morning fog,
you’ll see it
in a tree limb’s gesture,
you’ll feel it
like the sun across the hill,
bringing hope with it,
shedding light on purpose

Consent to joy –
it wants to shine in you,
it wants you,
all of you –
it wants you as you are.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 4, 2022