Claudia Poem by Francis Duggan

Each morning in Romanos in Boronia
With her cappucino she has a slice of cake
Dark haired and bronzed you might say she looks Spanish
But her accent you could never once mistake.

When Claudia speaks you know she is Italian
The accent always is a give away
You may have lived for years far from your Homeland
But bits of the accent you brought with you with you stay.

Her neighbour Paulo told me about Claudia
She is unmarried never was a wife
But she is an extraordinary woman
And she knows of the ups and downs of life.

She raised a daughter dark haired Valentino
And five years ago when she was twenty three
She disappeared whilst swimming at San Remo
It's been said her body was swept out to sea.

To have her only child die in her twenties
How heart breaking for her it had to be
She seldom talks about her deceased daughter
For her still too painful a memory.

A pretty looking woman in her forties
Through her dark hair just a few strands of gray
She must have been a beauty in her twenties
For she still looks quite beautiful today.

I often meet her in Romanos Cafe
And sit with her just to chat for awhile
Despite her heartbreaks she puts on a brave face
And there is warmth in her lovely smile.

Old Paulo told me she once had a boyfriend
But he forsook her after a brief fling
He was the father of her lovely daughter
True love can often be a hurtful thing.

By life and love she has not been treated kindly
And love right now the last thing on her mind
She once fell in love but she loved far too deeply
And faithful men are far too hard to find.

Each morning she is in Romanos Cafe
And with her coffee she always has cake
Dark haired and very bronzed she would pass as Spanish
But her Italian accent you could not mistake.