She may not be Streisand
but her smile sings
a song so grand
it brings a million blessings
and in her eyes the wisdom of the ages
of mother and sister and Chinese sages..

Jordan the Senator she is not
but when she speaks
it seems you forgot
the cares and critiques
you've had or heard
while you hang on her every word.

The famous Tuchman writer
of history never wrote
an account of a gutsy fighter
more willing to devote
herself to a unique blend
of family and friend.

The Walters TV interviewer
speaks to people of wealth and fame
but couldn't find a woman truer
or more accurate in her aim
to be authentic and real
to herself and her ideal.

The films had their Miss Stanwyck
who played no-nonsense parts
and "what you see is what you get"
was her motto from the start -
kind of like this woman we know
who is straight as an arrow.

But of the five luminaries above
none holds a candle to the one who is ours
to the Barbara we know and respect and love
the Barbara of diamonds, Didrikson and flowers
who gives us faith and makes us whole
who feeds us the warm bread of her soul.

[This poem is dedicated to Barbara Myers, one of a half dozen friends who have met for four years the second Saturday of each month in one of our homes for a meal, a few good laughs, occasional tears, but always for an island of spiritual nourishment above the murk of our egos and fears.]

02/17/2002

Posted on 02/17/2002
Copyright © 2024 Glenn Currier