Inspired by and dedicated to my beloved and brilliant friend, JeKaren, who always reminds me that joy and resilience are spiritual practices.

“Fog lifts. We lift. We find what we are looking for with our hands if not our eyes. I think we have to keep asking ourselves where is the joy?

JeKaren Olaoya

Joy dances in the fog,
Blissfully unaware
Of search parties
Desperately calling her name

Why would she notice?
She is too busy dancing,
Weaving herself
Into the undercurrent of despair

She does not know sorrow,
Only dancing,
Tiptoeing through nightmares,
Sprinkling hope and fairy dust
On even the deepest of wounds

Joy dances in the fog
Peeking through the underbrush
Watching the aimless wander by
One by one,
Always alone in their seeking

She twirls in the moonlight,
Wondering when we will realize
That she is not hiding
She is not missing
She is not far –

We will find what we are seeking
If only we can be determined
To wonder,
“Where is the Joy?”

If only we can be determined
To find the places where her feet
Have blessed the Earth,
To find her fairy dust,
To realize
She was never gone –

She was simply dancing
In the fog.