Posted by markfogarty on 02/05/2016

MAGGIE DIXON

The time cadets rushed on the court
To carry you off in a large tumult
Of crisp fatigues from long grey lines,

I’ll remember that one every time.

Too young to think you have to die,
Too young to be in poetry.
Too young to have a last regret,
Too young to die in your footsteps.

And now, and now you lie at rest
In honored soil that tears have blessed.
Now those who loved you carry you on
To courts they feel your spirit on.

They play each year inside your name.
They play for memory, and for fame.
And though your death still makes no sense,
Your life does make a difference.

Maggie Dixon died of sudden cardiac arrest shortly after leading the Army women’s basketball team to the Patriots League conference title and into Army’s first NCAA appearance. She was 28. She is buried on the grounds of West Point. The Maggie Dixon Classic is held yearly in her memory and raises money to fight heart disease. This poem appears in Mark Fogarty's poetry collection The Tall Women's Dance.

—Copyright 2015 MARK FOGARTY

Comments

Submitted by SCAFoundation on 02/05/2016

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Hi Mark, Thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute to Maggie Dixon. I'm sure her family appreciates your thoughtfulness.

Best wishes,

Mary Newman

P.S. We featured Maggie's story here

 

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