Marlene

'Tis not of a sports star or a president or a prime minister and 'tis not of a queen or a king
And 'tis not of a warrior or a high achiever whose praises I am about to sing
But of an ageing German woman the years have left her looking gray
She is such a generous person one who performs a good deed every day.

Marlene she is in her late sixties she is one who has known heartbreak
Her only child a daughter drowned in her early twenties and though her friends dragged her from the lake
And tried their best for to revive her the life from her body had gone
And without her nearest and dearest the grieving mother had to live on.

Her husband he left her for another woman and she raised their daughter on her own
Yet she has overcome her sorrows and few as brave as her I've known
She is always so carefree and happy and helpful in her own sweet way
And those who know her sing her praises and about her one bad word don't say.

Her neighbour Raelene in her eighties on Marlene she likes to heap praise
She says she is my garden angel the woman doesn't cease to amaze
She cleans my home and does my shopping and to help me goes out of her way
And gratitude to her is all I can offer since money I don't have for to pay.

When I sing of heroes and heroines I know who the great people are
I know one she is living on our street from where I live her house is not far
She has known more than her share of life's crosses but a good one cannot be kept down
And she surely is an unsung heroine the best in our side of the town.