IDENTITY

"We'll take joy wherever we can find it." ~Mike Bonifer

When life

Throws you in the ring 

Ricochets you

Against the ropes

Body-slams you 

Into despair

Out your right mind

Hurls you over

Your capacity's cliff

Battered frame

Thudding to the ground

Pause 

Breathe

And reach for Joy

Take it

Wherever

You can find it 

Be childlike about it

Wrap your pudgy little hand

Around its jumbo index finger

And let it lead you

To atmospheres where the grass

Is not greener but instead 

A spectrum

Of your favorite hues

Where you'll skip off-beat

Trip and fall on repeat

Tumble thru the padded pastures 

Snort-laughing loudly 

At your clumsy

No injury or shame

Mouth agape

Tongue

Peppered with specks of dirt

After every sprawl

Pop up exuberantly each time

Like a grasshopper on Meth

Take off running

In your mismatched shoes

Cuz Joy never requires perfection 

Or uniformity

Refuses to micromanage 

How you choose to wield it

How you show up

To the party

Lets you release your grip

On its limb

To venture off for the day

Treasure-hunt yourself 

In the peaks and valleys of Earth

Spot the ever-sought rainbow

Cartwheel your way

To the end of it

Discover the promised pot of gold

Peer inside 

See your euphoric face

In the reflection of each piece

Toss your head back wildly

And fling your arms open wide 

Michael Jackson style 

Christmas-Day squeal

At the gift of your existence 

The intensity of your value

The realization that 

You were never separated 

From Joy

Because it was

You

Leading the journey 

It was

You

That you were holding onto

The whole time

Everywhere you go

There you are

JOY!

Standing up to life's fight

With the power of glee

Persistence of peace

Smirk of satisfaction 

As you turn away from struggle

On some flex shit

Joy's protective halo on deck

And step

Outta the ring

In your mismatched shoes

Multi-toned grass plastered 

To your soles

Skipping off-beat

To your bliss

©2026 Charlene E. Green