96. Single mum

(from an obituary in The Guardian:
Lorenza Bianchi, 1932-2020)

Lorenza’s in a taxi, with her news:
she’s going to have a baby. She looks out
and on the steps of Brompton Oratory
she sees her lover – and his lovely bride.
She copes. Sells knicknacks, runs a market stall;
a Maharaja’s maid. They will get by
her and Emanuela. No, they’ll thrive.
To Billie Holiday, Puccini, she
reviews the album of her hectic life.
Expelled from school, a photographic muse
who loved the jazz scene, flirted with the beats.
She’s dazzling. Here, in the obit, live.
That pixie photo, and her daughter’s words:
“Sharp, funny and outspoken. Unafraid.”