Legend in Her Own Time

He was a rebel who wanted to be free.
He claimed as his all he could see.
His gang convinced those who didn’t agree.
He was young and full of opportunity.
He was a legend in his own time.

She was a beauty who didn’t have a care.
Everything she ever needed was there.
Her signature was her beautiful long brown hair.
She was taught life was always fair.
She was a legend in her own time.

One strange day their worlds did collide,
and their smiles seeded a love they couldn’t hide.
Secrets shared couldn’t cover the said lies.
She cut her hair as a point of new-found pride.
She was a legend in her own time.

They decided to elope and they were married.
However there was a silent killer he carried,
an unknown gift from the drugs he traded.
On the first night alone, he gave her AIDS.
They were a legend in their own time.
 
She was with child, and she was very pleased,
but it was delivered with the deadly disease.
The baby had several problems medically, and
it soon became a great burden financially.
The baby was a legend in its own time.

Her parents didn’t want to lose their baby, too.
She was 17, and there was one thing to do –
accept him as a son and they a pair, a two.
They had to work together to get her better soon.
Her parents were a legend in their own time.

He had witnessed the errors in his ways, and
knew he could not return to his old gang days.
He discovered life is merely a debt to be paid,
and he had another family in the gang’s place.
He was a legend in his own time.

As they got together, she continued to get worse,
and they banded to fight man’s new social curse.
Medicines cost them to dig deep into their purse,
They supported efforts to raise money to find a cure.
They were a legend in their own time.

Then early on a bright sunny Saturday, just a
week before she’d celebrate her 19th birthday,
the girl died of complications due to AIDS.
They tried to reason why this was a better place.
She was a legend in her own time.