George Burns died thirty years ago today.
He starred in TV shows and films and he appeared on Broadway.
George and his talented wife starred in a sitcom together.
It's very sad because both he and his wife are gone forever.
George lived to be 100 which most people are unable to do.
He was an extremely talented man and that's certainly true.
[Dedicated to George Burns (1896-1996) who died on March 9, 1996]
The Kennedy Center is known to the world
For honoring those in the arts –
From Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Astaire,
Whose talents top all of the charts.
Sinatra, Gene Kelly, L. Bernstein, Kazan
And Benny and Lena and Merce,
Ray Charles, Lucille Ball, Isaac Stern and George Burns,
The list both profound and diverse.
Belafonte and Ailey and Hepburn and Peck,
Gillespie and Sondheim, the Who;
Aretha and Dylan and Kander and Ebb,
Judith Jamison, Chuck Berry, too.
Baryshnikov, Quincy, Paul Simon and Cash,
Warren Beatty, James Taylor and Cher;
Tina Turner and Spielberg and Barbra and Tharp,
Yo Yo Ma, Dustin Hoffman – all there.
Al Pacino and Elton, De Niro and Streep,
Lily Tomlin, Santana and Sting;
LL Cool J and Reba and Joni, Mel Brooks,
Lionel, Dick Van Dyke, Carole King.
There are more I’ve not mentioned, but going ahead,
It is going to be quite a shock
When the Kennedy Center will honor, perhaps,
Village People or maybe Kid Rock.
Oh, I fear for this country in so many ways
And it feels we’ve been stabbed in our hearts
With the Kennedy Center now being run
By a man with no stake in the arts.
~ To the tune of:
'Where Have All the Flowers Gone?' ~
Where have all the comics gone
Long time passing
Milton Berle and Alan King
Long time did their thing
Where have all their insults gone
Long time passing
Don Rickles and Groucho Marx
Echo in empty parks
Where has all the slapstick gone
Long time passing
Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe
Gave way to milquetoast shows
Where have all the tap dancers gone
Sammy Davis, Donald O’Connor
Bumpers and grinders of today
Do the greats a dishonor
Where have all the comics gone
Georgie Jessel and George Burns
Gone the way of Romantic poets’ poems
~ Like Keats’ ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’
Richard Burton
was uncertain
if Liz Taylor cried
Fred Astaire
liked Ginger Rogers'
graceful derriere
Ricky Ricardo
said 'I Love Lucy'
Those two had a ball
Superman or 'Mr. Kent'
for Lois Lane
was never meant
Archie Bunker
loved fawning Edith
despite her awkward clunkers
Mister Ed
had fun with W-I-L-B-U-R
playing mind games with his head
Dobie Gillis
dreamed of girls
pity, he had no pearls
Dick Van Dyke
was never sure
'bout Mary Tyler Moore
Julie Andrews
stole his heart
in Mary Poppins' part
Old George Burns
wife was spacy ~
'Say Goodnight, Gracie!'
Mr. George Burns
In a movie played 'God'
Hilarious, comedic head
On such a laughable bod...
His wife Gracie
Acted totally spacy
Her humor dazzling
Via daffiness frazzling
Burns and Returns
(Aha. George Burns and Gracie Allen
again I presume.)
What causes trumpets to toot and a heart that burns
Is when we will hear about Trumpet's tax returns
On us Trumpet is seriously starting to grow and grow
After we had heard how badly trumpet he blow;
So we should spread his ashes in many urns.
James Thesarious Hilarious Horn
Retired Veteran Trying to master
art of writing poetry that ended up
becoming my own eulogy. I always
died trying to write another poem.
How about you!!!
A small man, yet standing tall,
eyeglasses so large by far.
Here with us laughter was your call,
always fiddling with your cigar.
Semi straight face, twinkle of an eye,
you told it like it was.
When God called ypu up to the sky,
someone special he took from us.
I remember your T.V. show,
you had such unique talent.
Burns and Allen we came to know,
many famous moments spent.
Talking on and on whether wrong or right,
Gracy was a gal that glowed.
An end of a special goodnight,
that was the Burns and Allen show.
One more thing to put it right,
all should come to see.
Those famous words, "Gracey say goodnight,"
and that great, "Oh God," movie.
He was a talented man who was loved by many.
The person who I'm talking about was Jack Benny.
He had a career that was sure to soar.
He was born in 1894 and died in 1974.
Besides being a comedian, he also played the violin.
Benny was treasured by millions of women and men.
He arranged to send flowers to his widow every day after he died which was romantic to do.
George Burns tried to give him a eulogy but he broke down and couldn't continue.
On his program, he always pretended to be thirty-nine.
People loved him because his performances were divine.
(Dedicated to Jack Benny who died on December 26, 1974.)
When someone dies before his time,
It’s more than merely sad,
Despite the fact that no one knew
Just how much time he had.
I guess “Before his time” implies
The person died quite young,
But do we really know which side
Of death we’ll be among?
The George Burns’ side? A century
Of living quite fulfilled?
Or Philip Seymour Hoffman’s,
Forty-six when he was killed?
There rarely is a time to die
That’s deemed exactly “right,”
But someday each of us will get
To say our last “good night.”
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.