She is a dreamer,
carrying big plans on her back.
A young girl who is steadfast,
feet planted firm on the earth.

She idolizes her grandmother:
Envies to be the same kind of woman
with identical strength and resilience.

She thinks bigger,
wants to travel further.
A university degree for teaching,
so she can help others.

She is a hard worker
who never backs down.
Working day and evening shifts,
to be the needed support
for herself and others.

And on she goes
for three years,
to spread knowledge,
help grow,
teach young children;
She is fulfilling her dream.

She is confident in herself.
Her eyes and ears closed
to the people who want to overpower her
and become the kings,
when she knows,
she is the queen of her life.

And they tell her their decisions,
to make them her decisions.
“Joyce, you should be a model.”

But she, the queen,
has dreams for herself,
and she is both determined,
and strong-willed.

On and on she follows her dreams,
and arrives the day,
when she comes face to face
with her soulmate,
her beloved,
and then he is her husband.

A beautiful husband,
a beautiful son,
a beautiful daughter:
The perfect family.

She travels,
through all the states,
wishlist in hand,
to board a plane and find herself in..
Australia,
India,
Egypt.

She is a traveler,
a wife,
a mother,
a reader,
a strong and beautiful woman.

The years flow along,
and she finds herself old,
and the brightness has sort of faded.

1 year gone
since her husband’s death;
She is alone,
but loving,
still carrying a big heart
in her chest.

For she loves
her granddaughters
unlike anybody else.
Still holds sweet memories
of her family,
looking forward greatly
when her children
will be the ones knocking on her door.

Life has not turned out how she imagined it would be.

She is weakened and ill,
but still has a strength,
a beauty,
shining deep within her.

And now more than ever,
she has greater wisdom,
and teaches once more her lessons to us.

She is Joyce:

Others do not make you unhappy; you choose to be unhappy.

Make your own decisions; do not let others decide for you.

Be more confident.

Stand up for others.

Help others.

 

The inspiration for this poem was a visit to the Bow view Manor where we had the pleasure of meeting a very sweet lady named Joyce. When we first arrived into her little home, we were so nervous and confused. Nervous about what she would be like, what she would say, what she would think of us. Confused as to what we would say to her even though we had our questions all well thought out; in the moment it all didn’t seem enough. Would she talk to us properly or just want us to leave? Upon meeting her and talking to her, we quickly realized that her not having enough to say was not a worry at all. She’s a very talkative person, leading from one story to another. She was a pure hearted lady who left us with a lot of positive tips and thoughts on how to live life to its fullest. She gladly answered all of our questions and gave us such an insight into her life, the happy parts along with the not so pretty parts of life. She loved talking about her family and when she spoke of her childhood we could personally feel a connection with her; we could clearly envision what her life would have been like. Closer to the end of our interview things got very emotional on our side. She showed us her vulnerable side that has come out with age, as she introduced us to her teddy bear that was gifted by her granddaughter, and was apparently her best friend. At one point she started to converse with her bear as though he was a real person listening to what she had to say, felt the emotions she expressed out to him. It felt as though Noor and I had disappeared for her and it was only her and the bear in the moment. Witnessing that moment made me really think how after living your life and coming into this age, it can really make you go back into the state you started your life – as a child. Life is a cycle that begins as a child, then growing up and living, experiencing life, and then once the old age catches up to you, one can go into the state of being a child all over again because of loneliness. As we were leaving she stopped us in our tracks to give us some deep advice on how to live our lives to the fullest: “Do not let anyone control you, your decisions, or your emotions. You live your life for you. And you do whatever the hell you want.”

Thank you Joyce – we treasure the opportunity we had to meet you.

Sincerely,  Amrit and Noor