Introduction
Mary Archer is a double amputee and a resident of Robert Harvey House, a nursing home in England. Although fond of writing poetry, Mary's favorite therapeutic activity has always been painting. She wrote Unsung Heroes in 1996 and made several hand-written copies to give to care-givers as a thank you. The poem was later published in a book titled West Midland Poets. The poem Best Things in Life appears in the book Treasured Dreams, published July 2000, Triumph House, Peterborough, U.K.

Unsung Heroes
Unsung heroes so many we know,
Cannot choose one just to show,
That everyday they show their care,
To others, who may be unaware,
Of all that's done with patience shown,
(Many have worries of their own)
Myself I know about their care,
Spending days in my wheelchair
So with praise I write this verse,
To everyone that we call nurse

Best Things in Life
What are the things most loved best?
These are a few up on my quest
In finding as through life I pass
Sunshine filtering on green grass
Between tall trees standing there
In spring, to autumn and winter bare
To see a sunset from on high
A view across the span of sky
Flowers in profusion by a cottage wall
People, paintings, music to recall
Times of happy memories shared
With someone else who also cared
One little keepsake, I have to treasure
My mother's necklace will last forever
A loving memory to be passed on
It's not the money value of these things
But all the memories that they bring
So much to treasure, and understand
Across the world from every land
God created us with gifts to share
With everything that's good and rare
Life is worth living when we can see
This wonderful world is for you and me
To enjoy and treasure whilst we can
It's all part of our Creator's plan.

The following is an excerpt from a letter Mary wrote to Linda Crabtree.

At age 84, even though my eyes are not so good now and my fingers are clumsy, I can't grumble, because with my 15-year-old electric chair I can still do more than many here in the nursing home, such as opening drawers, bending down to pick things up holding on to the arm of the chair, which is a little exercise. I do have some problems though, such as angina, and pain in my right piece of leg, but my left leg with its missing foot is doing well, for which I am very thankful.
Since I have so much time to think of all sorts of things, I find myself more than ever thankful for those who make and have made so much in this world to help us, even the person who designed the bedpan! I do try to focus on beautiful things, but it's difficult with so much sadness in the world right now.
Speaking of time to contemplate different things, I remember a day in 1987 when I left my aunt's bungalow, put another aunt in my mini, went back to aunty's to pick up the shopping and the gale force winds and rain blew her chimney pot off the roof. It came crashing down the back of me and landed on the step. I have had three near misses in life, so I feel I have a guardian angel. I hope you have a guardian angel too.
I have not done any painting for quite a long time and with my poems printed in 19 books I have now given that up also, but it did help me to fill up my time here.
Now I must give my eyes a rest.
Best wishes for a peaceful new year in spite of all the dreadful happenings all over this beautiful world.
With my love and admiration for all your work and the courage taken to cope.
God bless you
Mary