IN THE PARK WITH NORMA

 IN THE PARK WITH NORMA

(IN MEMORY OF NORMA GRINER)

I only knew her for a short while,

But how it would make me smile,

To go virtually out my door,

To Roland Park in Baltimore,

A mood lifter was a cinch,

When Norma was on her park bench.

Or perhaps at a picnic table,

A living legend and fable.

Conducting Handel's Messiah with a breathtaking flair,

Her arms swinging in midair.

Or singing Over The Rainbow in her sweet alto voice.

Or singing the praises of chocolate, ho ho ho.

Dementia had darkened her door,

But Miss Norma she was so much more.

So much more than her disease,

And music made her feel at ease.

Her son Larry would sing along,

His phone providing the daily song,

Miss Norma's eyebrows would dance up and down,

Digging the beat and rejoicing in the sound.

24 years with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Chorus,

She was no stranger to the lure of a song,

Singing from the stage with her alto strong.

A lover of classical music, Bach, Mozart, Chopin,

No amateur or neophyte, no flash in the pan,

She arranged her life around choir practices and recitals,

While passing her musical knowledge on to her progeny,

A marvel and a wonder, her kind spirit touched me.

Making me want to sing with joy and abandon,

To embrace the little things, like chocolate and flirting,

For it doesn't hurt to flirt she would say, in her offhand kind of way,

A 91 year old sprite. who brought magic to my day.

Now she is singing in the skies, the veil has lifted,

For Norma the magical, Norma the gifted.

I will have to be content with Larry's rich archives,

To keep the legend of Norma alive.

But her memory will echo throughout Roland Park,

From sunrise to sunset, from daylight 'til dark.

-Bruce Potts

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