Louis Armstrong was born to a 16-year-old mother, abandoned by his father and raised by his grandmother until he was 5 years old. Growing up in the early 20th century, he faced poverty, violence and discrimination. Yet, he chose joy. Look at that face. What a wonderful face. What a wonderful attitude. When this song was first recorded, there were difficulties (An ABC Records president tried to stop it. Train whistles interrupted it twice.) so the work stretched from 2-6 a.m., after Louis' midnight show. Yet Louis laughed off the interruptions and chose to receive a lesser than average rate so the orchestra could be paid for their overtime work. He chose joy.
I wrote this poem recently and would like to share it with you.
JOY
By Teresa Arsenault ©2019
Joy beckons
in nuances of colour and form
Shell-pink
pearlized or dazzling shades of orange
A soft
entreaty or blaring right out loud
A blaze of
coloured sky
Or single
ray within a cloud
Joy embraces,
Joy salutes
Bear hug or softest
kiss
Joy greets
in lively shouts
Her whispers
often missed
Walk with
joy on stumbling ground
Or join in
vibrant stride
She waits
for you on every path
And vigils
by your side
Choose joy,
wondrous joy
Her
intentions ever kind
Love joy when
she’s apparent
Seek when
she’s hard to find
Joy is a cheery
companion
In sorrow a
closest friend
Choose to
love, choose to believe
Hold Joy
until the end
May you choose joy today.
Blessing hugs,
Teresa
