TRIPPING ON JOY

TRIPPING ON JOY

Funny thing happened the other day,
As I was going my merry way,
A good friend of mine, a delightful old bat,
Stubbed her old toe on a kitchen floor mat.

It was a Christmas floor mat in front of a sink.
And the old bat, alas, had had too much to drink,
And like a child by herself all absorbed in her toy,
The old bat went merrily tripping on joy.

The floor mat was engraved with that very word,
As innocuous a word as has ever been heard.
It’s lots of times, not just Christmas day.
We seem to get mired in our own rigid way.
And are blind to the blessings that fall in our lap,
The warmth of good friends and a good stocking cap.

Let us try to remember and never forget,
The friendship of others, the kisses so wet,
That rain down upon us like snowflakes from the sky,
With each breath we take, we soar and we fly,
The dog’s sacred bark, the newborn’s first cry.

And it is all such a wonder, a sight to behold,
In the barren dead of winter, in the bitter cold.
We must always remember, it is always our choice,
To wallow in misery or to up and rejoice.

To reach for the heavens or to plumb the ocean floor,
To curse the darkness and cry evermore,
Or to light a candle in the night, and row our boat to shore.

Funny thing happened the other day,
As I was minding my own what was,
A good friend of mine who was slightly buzzed,
A wild old woman, a wily sort,
Stubbed her toe with a salty retort.

But like any good girl or any good boy.
She picked herself up and got on with her day.
Tipping the universe, tripping on joy,
Stumbling along on her drunken way.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2011
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Note: A big thanks to Christie, Chad, Jeni, Linda, John, Julie, and Wilson for an incredible Saturday afternoon that helped inspire this piece, which is a bit of truth and a bit of nonsense. The "old bat" was not drunk, nor did she curse. She barely even tripped. But she did trip slightly and the floor mat WAS a beautiful floor mat with JOY emblazoned on it. I just couldn't help myself.