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permission to let joy heal

By Raquel Franco

If joy finds you in the panting

heat, katydids buzzing by

the porch light… let it hold you.

It’s ok to let your belly

get full on delight, to ache

from laughter instead of anxiety.

To be serenaded by crickets strumming

their violins. To let bonfire smoke worship

your hair. Let winking fireflies dogear

a summer night you want to remember.

It’s ok to find joy inside

a world that is thick with despair,

a world that isn’t always easy to love.