Joy is Like a Rainbow

Joy is like a rainbow.......
just as fleeting, no less glorious
a moment never captured
only felt and perhaps remembered
but never with the same intensity

Joy is like a rainbow
a bright spot in a downpour
requiring only my attention
and presence in that moment

Joy is like a rainbow
although I know the conditions that must be in place
I still have to look for it
and each time I am surprised

Joy is like a rainbow
turning me magically, instantaneously,
from a cynical, world-weary traveler
into an awestruck child
who can still get misty-eyed

Joy is like a rainbow
it can't be bought or sold
it is not reserved for those with money for the ticket
nor denied to the least among us

How many rainbows have formed and faded
just outside my window
while inside, all I noticed was the rain---
unseen, casting a magical glow of color, giving me a glimpse of heaven
while I rushed, cursing, with the bucket to put under the leak in my roof?

The world with all its troubles may seem like an endless rainy day--
where selfless love and human kindness are as rare as rainbows--
but simple pleasures and good friends still make it all worthwhile.

I cannot solve the troubles of this great big lonely world,
but I can make my own small corner a place where those fleeting,
joy-filled moments will not pass unnoticed.

You are invited, warmly welcomed, to share some of the things that revive the child in me-the curiosity, the wonder, the fits of giggles....you remember-when Mom called out from her bedroom, You girls, quiet down now, and get to sleep-- and that only caused yet another round of badly suppressed laughter. No matter the headlines-with all their gloom and doom-no matter what the experts and pundits and naysayers and critics think or foretell, there are still moments--each and every day--of pure, absolute, and unexpected joy.