Rosa

'Tis sad to think her I never more will meet At the shopping complex, in the park or the street The lilt in her warm hello so lovely to hear We miss her from the town the lovely old dear She outlived her husband by a decade or more They came here together from a distant shore Their only offspring Joe a noble young man Did not make it home from the war in Vietnam Last week Rosa died she was eighty three Far from her Hometown of Rome in Italy A beautiful person untainted by guile And free of conceit she had warmth in her smile Never more to be seen in the town shopping mall But fond memories of her are with us to recall.