Chère Françoise
Chère Françoise Chère amie de ma jeunesse, Françoise, So cool, so chic, so desirable, Tu a boulversé mes rêves d’adolescence With a beauty that is far and near. Far more beautiful in your battle Your silver hair a halo Your courage and bright eyes Your twenty years with cancer. Hard to believe that a perfect angel Could be touched by illness Just like us, even more perhaps You suffered more than most. You had the burden of being beautiful A joy for everyone but you Men feasted on your looks But never touched your soul. Living like a bird on show In a gilded cage you sang Of happiness we all desire Of loves that come and go. You have died and so have we, A little part of us at least A page is torn from our teenage years A tear is shed for you and me. Françoise Madeleine Hardy 1944-2024.