http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Jan 8th is Dame Shirley Bassey's birthday. I have been a Shirley Bassey fan for many years. One of my favourite numbers is probably
a lesser known song called I Reach for
the Stars. (Check it out on You Tube, folks.) It is a beautiful song; as always, this incredible lady does it more than justice.
It was a great thrill to see how
electrifying this amazing woman continues to be at the recent Jubilee concert
that was part of her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
No poem can do justice to Dame Shirley
Bassey’s unique talent, but I hope this villanelle will go some way towards
expressing express my personal admiration and gratitude for years of first class entertainment.
Photo: Dame Shirley Bassey [Internet photo.]
Update (April 2016): A 20ft high gold-painted statue of Dame Shirley Bassey by artist Marc Rees, Caenarfon Castle, 2016. [Internet photo]
SHIRLEY
Feisty
tigress from The Bay,
inimitable
mistress of popular song,
stealing
our hearts away
Burning
passion holding sway,
heartfelt
feeling for right and wrong;
feisty
tigress from The Bay
Gesturing
for love to have its say
where
tears for its fears, too, belong,
stealing
our hearts away
Bringing
life to shades of grey,
to
wintry spirits the delights of spring,
feisty
tigress from The Bay
A
voice, lifting the darkest day
like
a sunburst where clouds still cling,
stealing
our hearts away
Go
the stars, the Bassey way,
a
rare privilege just to be tagging along;
feisty
tigress from The Bay,
stealing
our hearts away
Copyright R. N.
Taber 2012
[Note: 'The Bay' refers to the Tiger Bay area of Cardiff, South Wales, where Shirley Bassey was born.]