You were the girl who could ” turn
The world on with your smile”
But you inner universe
Turned you inside out. For more than
Forty years your faithful friend, Diabetes,
Hugged you to her hungry breasts
Heavy drinking after work and smoking
Dragged you down to earth.Your only son,
At 24, playing with his guns
Shot himself in the head.Your younger sister
Joined your ancestors after a drug overdose at 21
Your brother fell prey to kidney cancer at 47–
Through all this, though, your friends remember
Your generosity and grace and speak of how
You gave up laughs to others in the cast
And as the opening theme song reaches a crescendo
You flash that lovely smile and throw
Your blue hat up in the air–
Beautiful, intelligent, classy and articulate
With a statue to your name
And nearly blind at the end
Lady with three names you made it ”after all.”
You grew to be an icon
In your own time.
Loved it !
Thank you very much, dear Santosh.
An evocative work,shrouded somewhat in mystery,at least for this reader as to who the Mary of the title might refer to.
Sorry,Louis.The ”Mary” in the title refers to Mary Tyler Moore,the actress who passed away on 25/1/2017 at the age of 80. She was widely known for her roles as Laura Petrie in ” The Dick Van Dyke Show”( 1961-66) and as Mary Richards in” The Mary Tyler Moore Show ”(1970-77) . Thank you.