Trevor Wainwright writes:
You may now be aware of the passing of Betty. As we say in Yorkshire, "She were a reyt grand lass". I met her for the first time in 1998. In 2001, whilst at a shopping mall in York, I wrote the poem From The Heart. Like certain of my poems it was inspired by a country ballad. It became part of my ME Poetry Exhibition, which was on display at the first ever ME Conference in Castleford at which Betty spoke. She looked at the poems and said how she liked it, and was promptly given the exhibition copy. She said, "Thank you and don't ever sell it for less than a pound".
As with Believe ME becoming Carli's poem in memory of Carli Barry of York, From The Heart will also be known as Betty's Poem, cos anyone who heard her could say of her, "she spoke From The Heart".
Poem below, read and remember.
From The Heart (Betty’s Poem)
I listened to the singer,
I heard his song start.
He played his guitar,
He sang right from the heart.
He sang about a love he knew,
About how they had to part.
He sang about how he felt,
He sang right from the heart.
He sang about his love,
Though they were miles apart.
A love that was still there,
As he sang right from the heart.
Now some sing for pleasure,
To some singing is an art.
There’s some that sing for money.
But he sang right from the heart.
And some need an orchestra,
Acoustics, choirs whole or in part.
But he just needed three things.
His guitar, his voice, his heart.