HONORING AN ICON
by Terri Winaught
AMAZING voice that soulfully soothed,
BALLADS of romance with rhythm and blues;
CRY Baby became his signature song,
DEEP with compassion and a love so strong.
ENJOYMENT comes from touching a soul,
FAITH in Jesus keeps him whole,
GIFTS bring forth, like nurtured trees,
HARVEST of talents, shared abundantly.
IN 1933, when he was born,
JIM Crow had the South divided, torn;
KINDNESS from his parents taught him to love,
LOVE he lives with the peace of a dove.
MUSIC still is key to his new mission,
NOTES filled with praise sing a sacred vision.
OVERWHELMED I was that he would meet me;
PLEASURE was my friend that day in Philly.
QUIET is the place he longed for in song,
RESPITE from noise he heard all night long.
STRONG in his beliefs, with no apologies,
TRUST in God gets him through adversities.
UNITED in love, faithful to his wife --
VALUED more than gold, treasure of his life.
WARM soul transcended many continents,
EXUDING what's good, cloaked in gentleness.
YOU may ask where these words came from:
ZEAL for Garnet Mimms is what wrote this poem!
I grew up in Philadelphia, PA and currently live in Pittsburgh. I am married; have two accomplished adult children, and I work at a local mental-health agency. I love going to Pittsburgh Pirates baseball and University of Pittsburgh football games with my husband, Jim; singing at Church; listening to oldies, especially 1960's soul, and saying to people who are nice to me, "You should be cloned!"