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. 

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