Joy (I)

“A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. Joy is not simply a matter of temperament, it is always hard to remain joyful — all the more reason why we should try to acquire it and make it grow in our hearts.” ~Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

I will dig in the clothes

I will dig in the clothes
making a hole where the whites used to be

and before I step away
more will fill it in falling from the chute

the little hills and mountains
forming and eroding on the basement floor

sand castles and moats on the beach
I dig through the onsies, t-shirts, shorts

looking for the shells and sparkling jewels
of holiness searching

remembering that sometimes it takes a good walk
along the shore before stumbling upon

the most precious pieces of secrets
and, too, upon turning,

and walking back,
the treasure pops right out of the ground

under our feet –
service –

that kind of sand and those pounding waves
polish any dull and rough rock

on the basement floor –
toys thrown down the chute

decorating the dirty laundry like shells
on the seaweed-strewn beach

left by life, love,
and the undulating tide.