Friday, May 16, 2014

It's Their Time Now

Barbara Walters' career
outlasted the acceptable use
of the term "newswoman".

She rose
from pouring tea

as a "Girl"
on the Today show
in the 60s

to becoming synonymous
with being a willing listening ear
to the noble

and the vile
and the morally dubious.

Then she was a measured
thoughtful contributor

on her all-female
daytime discussion show

(more than a PC
demographic cross-section

meant to nominally satisfy
some quota
for tritely-chattering ladies
visibly on-screen)

"The View".

And contrary
to popular memory

Katharine Hepburn was the one
who herself brought up
that she "felt like a tree".

What response
can a good interviewer give

but to ask her
"What kind"?

This poem © 2014 Emily Cooper.