Joy does not arrive with a fanfare
on a red carpet strewn
with the flowers of a perfect life

joy sneaks in
as you pour a cup of coffee
watching the sunlight
hit your favourite tree, just right

and you usher joy away
because you are not ready for her
your house is not as it should be
for such a distinguished guest

but joy cares nothing for your messy home
or your bank-balance, or your waistline, you see

joy is supposed to slither through
the cracks of your imperfect life

that’s how joy works

you cannot truly invite her
you can only be ready when she appears
and hug her with meaning

because in this very moment
joy chose you”

Donna Ashworth

Reads: “Take Them With You If someone you love did not make it on that trip you can take it for them with them. If someone you love did not witness that milestone you can show them anytime you like. If someone you love did not get to do their living you can finish those dreams on their behalf. The beautiful thing about love you see is that death need not stop life. If you carry someone in your heart you can take them with you anywhere you like.” Donna Ashworth

From the book Loss: Poems to better weather the waves of grief

Reads: “Hope floats, as a fated ship is dragged to its demise on the seabed. Hope rises when everything else is sinking. Hope flies when there are no wings and hope, without an engine. Hope does not need light, or oxygen to survive. It grows best in the dark, truth be told. Hope is the 1% which rallies against statistics. The one they cannot explain. Hope is against-the-odds, in spite of fact and solely made of will. Hope is the space between faith and spirit. Hope is the belief that things can get better, that the sun will warm again, that the end not need be that. Hope lives in the mud, in the mire, in the barren wasteland of emptiness. It is like magic, this hope. And the best thing of all? It’s free, you just have to call it near. Hope floats my friends, cling onto it, when you are just too tired to swim.” Donna Ashworth

From the book Wild Hope: Healing Words to Find Light on Dark Days

Reads: “Hope floats, as a fated ship is dragged to its demise on the seabed. Hope rises when everything else is sinking. Hope flies when there are no wings and hope, without an engine. Hope does not need light, or oxygen to survive. It grows best in the dark, truth be told. Hope is the 1% which rallies against statistics. The one they cannot explain. Hope is against-the-odds, in spite of fact and solely made of will. Hope is the space between faith and spirit. Hope is the belief that things can get better, that the sun will warm again, that the end not need be that. Hope lives in the mud, in the mire, in the barren wasteland of emptiness. It is like magic, this hope. And the best thing of all? It’s free, you just have to call it near. Hope floats my friends, cling onto it, when you are just too tired to swim.” Donna Ashworth