Judy Garland’s Blues

Why was Judy Garland sad?
Did she have everything—but not love?
What drove Judy Garland mad,
Or do I give her too much credit?

Was she merely unlucky, after all the luck?
Did she think she had two armfuls of nothing,
A mansion of expenses and pills and airs
Amid lost things forever beyond her reach?

Did she have everything—but not love?
Was she too often left behind
Or was she poisoned in the vein
As by too many drinks or a rattlesnake...

Twisted by some familial demon spirit she became
That dizzied spirit, the reel and spin, the living blues,
Forever frightened—no matter her age or image or magic—
Of what had always been and was out of control to the end?

Did she, like you, like me, have everything—
But could not feel the love?

rcs.

3rd draft: 04/26/05
©2004 Ronald C. Southern

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