Extended Family Poem by RoseAnn V. Shawiak

Tovrea's Castle, a building of history for life and family.
Standing so remotely on a hill, yet it was always filled
with peacocks and cacti, thrilling the air around it.
An aura of mystery, surrounding it's environment, yet to
us it was very personal.
Mom would walk the few steps to the stone wall enclosing
the property, down the walkway came an elderly woman to
pass the time of day.
Two lonely women, talking together, laughing, enjoying
each other's company while the children were in school.
A birthday was coming up and the elderly woman invited
Mom to have it in her castle.
Elated to the max, Mom accepted and they planned the
party for the coming weekend.
On Saturday our whole family drove to the wrought iron
gates, they opened wide and the elderly lady got back in
her car, telling us to follow her.
Joyfully, we did, parked our car and excitedly poured out
and walked to the door.
Going inside, we were awe-struck at it's beauty of space.
No words could describe it - we were all silent.
Taking us on a tour of the entire castle, inside and out,
the elderly lady reveled in her pride, it shone from her
eyes and we basked in her delight of our appreciation of
her home.
Everything was set up in the ballroom, where it felt like
icing was dripping on our heads from they ceiling.
It was awesome - an unreal experience - how wonderfully
lucky she was to live there.
Party time was great, even she sang Happy Birthday with
us and clapped when the candles were all blown out.
Feeling like a part of our family, an elderly woman saw
through all her material possessions and found the one
thing worth more than all of it - family.
Even though we were only children, we learned that our
poverty was a beautiful gift worth more than her life's
possessions.