Rosanne Cash was born, if my arithmetic is right, on Bob Dylan’s 14th birthday. And though it’s ridiculous to compare artists, I find her best stuff among the most beautiful and powerful I’ve ever heard — as Dylan might say, right on target, so direct. Happy birthday to an amazing talent.

Rosanne Cash, May 24, 1955

It seems there’s no end
To Rosanne Cash’s talent,
Courage, honesty

Johnny’s daughter, sure
But so much more — a writer
Of bottomless depth

From country chart hits
To confessions of terror
As love struggles, dies

Delicate beauty
Heartbreaking like a teardrop
Just about to fall

Courage? Or no choice
But to face all the feelings
Life brought to her heart?

No matter, she faced
It all, spun it out for us
In dozens of songs

From “Interiors”
Through “Black Cadillac,” she put
Her pain on display

Life took her apart
Many times — divorces, deaths
And brain surgery

She unflinchingly
Put herself back together
Extraordinary

She keeps creating
And helping some fine causes
Her story goes on

Here’s to Rosanne Cash
Courageous, she writes and loves
A woman in full