By 
As the cock crows, she is on the next train to her workplace.
Aunt, Sisi, Joyce are her names in different households.
Washing, cleaning and ironing have become her areas of expertise.
She knows no off day.
Penury and backward beliefs denied her the right to education.
She is haunted by the thought of her as a learned individual on the other side of the fence.
A thought that fuels her anger towards her country’s government and society.
Living in a foreign land has earned her names from its hosts,
Deafened by their own ignorance in the form of sound.
Giggle, laughter and sometimes anger fill the air every time she speaks.
Her accent is the joke of the moment
Words of wisdom, words that are meant to build are lost in the air
Yet she still hopes that her words manage to pierce into the ears of her audience.
From the mansions and pristine houses, her road leads to a four-walled blue shelter,
A room that brings peace and turmoil simultaneously.
She holds a blue teddy bear as she mentally goes on a journey back to her home country,
One that she visits once a year if the bosses go on vacation.
Not enough time to build bridges but long enough to let her know that she is loved and will always be there for her.
Every day passes by with its own ‘maybes’, ‘what ifs,’ ‘if only,’ and sacrifices, but it’s also filled with so much hope.
She is elated and proud to give her daughter what she was deprived of; interaction between a teacher and a student,
A chance at having a say in her future and be what she wants without limitations.
A right she was denied of merely because she was born a female child.