To Our Dear Marie

ToOur Dear Marie How did I come to know this beautiful woman In curly hair, who smiles in spite of pain Who writeswithout let up and buriesher sorrow in verses with tears? Howcan oneignore her voice That tells the truth about life's struggles About courage and endurance About hope that makes life worthwhile? O, dear Marie, at last you surrender Your last breath on the final scene When you encounter peace and beauty Also in silence when your struggles end. Thanks for your life of goodness Thanks for your poems of hope Thanks for your life, a witness to truth To that hope that one can take even toone'sown grave. ______________ Marie, died after her longbattle of cancer but during the years of her illness, she continued to write poems.