Headline Poem 2/11/14 -- Farewell Shirley Jane

(Shirley Temple's favorite photo -- Little Miss Marker, 1934, photo credit Paramount Productions, Inc.)

Actress, dancer, ambassador, wife, mother, daughter, and grandmother, Shirley Temple Black passed away at the age of 85. Today's poem is for her.

Farewell Shirley Jane

Big, round circles in the sand
erased with the tide,
will come around again
from your first dance in a major film,
to Monday's departure three days before a full moon
we stand up and cheer, for you

You sat on the shoulders of dignitaries from foreign lands,
cuddled and danced while holding the hands
of prestigious co-stars and military greats
you won hearts with your wit and your grace

You were the littlest rebel
with a list that is long
of those who you captured
as we sang along
from Will Rogers,
Duke P. Kahanamoku,
your big brother George
and little Ching-Ching, 

To groundbreaking performances with your talented Uncle Bill

You lifted spirits during the Great Depression,

chatted it up with Caesar Chavez and J. Edgar Hoover,
fell asleep in a car, ending up a stowaway with Robert Young,
and ran with your beloved 24th Street Neighborhood Gang

You celebrated with Disney, and the seven dwarfs, 
and Captain January, Buddy Ebsen, himself
Smiled through Indian Signs with Martin Goodrider and Chief Yellow Kidney

We cannot forget the elegant Joan Crawford and
humble Eleanor Roosevelt,
Helen Hayes
Andrew Hotchkiss Jr., (your first love)

Clark Gable
Noel Coward
Orson Welles
Sargent Jack
Cary Grant
Prime Minister Mackenzie King
Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
Ronald Reagan
your first leading man Georgie Smith, in 1932

You retired from acting at age 22,

Married the love of your life,

And didn't fall in to the washed up trap

You showed us beauty is more than dimples, curls, and cash --

Heck, you became a diplomat and

kicked cancer's ass!

Today, we salute you.
Goodbye Mrs. Black,
Farewell Shirley Jane,
Now and forever

In our hearts you'll remain.