This time in our lives
joy collects in deep reservoirs
in the slow spaces where time
has made room,
in the lack of will to worry
and the willingness to accept

The widened shapes of our feet
echo a broader knowledge
of what can happen
and how much of that
doesn’t matter at all

Appreciation is a ripe fruit
we can pick without judgment
in the ease of laughter
(less work than fretting)
and the lubrication of many past tears,
in the clarity of coming full
in the abundance of years.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 18, 2019