Joyless Woman

She was a joyless woman
Never seen to smile
Enjoy a joke
Show any sign of playfulness

No one knew from whence she came
She’d always lived in the small terraced house
Its windows clad in thick net curtains
Front door always closed
Looking like it never opened

She was seen rarely
Her shuffling gait crossing the road
And disappearing down the maze of streets and houses

The seasons meant nothing to her
No glitter or sparkle at Christmas
No sign of joy in Spring and Summer
And many thought she hibernated in winter

No husband was ever known
No family called at the cold front door
Locked as always and loveless

Sometimes a light would be seen at an upstairs window
The curtains twitching
As glassy eyed
She peered down the street

Whilst not often seen
She was, however, part of our street
Our history
And our working-class families

When not seen for many weeks
We pondered and kept a distant watch
Time passed
Turning to months
And still no sign of her small shuffling mysterious figure

When new folks arrived and settled in her house
We marvelled and were amazed
Suddenly new paint and bright cheerful curtains appeared
And smiling they joined our community

Enquiring where she’d gone
They knew nothing of her
The house was stripped bare
No sign of her ever living there

And so she’d gone
We never knew her or found out what happened
Gone just gone
A joyless woman
So sad in a joyless world

Norman Turkington