Down Moon River on a Cement Slab

This is a re-post, in memory of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens and the loss of a dear friend.

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“Down Moon River on a Cement Slab” *

           To Barbara Pierce Morris Seibold   (1947 – 1980)

(Originally written for Barb on her 33rd birthday. Just 2 months later she died in the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980, along with her husband and two children. She always made me laugh, always found humor in any situation. The last verse was added after she died.)

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We had a frog called Inky-Dink

until the pond went dry

and it was time

to go to school.

We threw our homework

in the mud

and laughed

at Mrs. Eagle-Eye.

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I slammed your finger

in the locker door,

your nail turned

black and blue.

You laughed

and drained it with a pin

that had a different

point of view.

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Then walking home

we yelled at muddy trucks

that splashed our knees

with scum,

and laughing, kicked

fresh Girl Scout cookies

down the street

to spite the crumbs.

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On Saturdays

we shopped downtown,

they couldn’t keep us

on the ground.

I lost you

on the 13th floor

but always heard you laughing

through the elevator door.

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Dick’s fries were still 11 cents

we ate them

in your green corvair

and laughed and sang

to KJR

then chased some boys

but not too far.

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Once on a dare

we broke into

the secret tunnel

beneath the school.

Our stockings snagged

on gurgling pipes

we swore the air grew hotter

but all the time

we laughed our alma mater.

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After senior finals

you threw your gym shoes

from the car.

They landed on a frowning cop

who didn’t want to celebrate.

You laughed

at the $30 fine

and went to graduate.

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One day we met

with shining rings

and home grown bellies

laughing at the years gone by.

We drove to show

a favorite teacher

how we’d learned to multiply.

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added a few months after Barb died:

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No roadblocks ever

held you back

how could you know St. Helen’s

would have heartburn on that day?

She belched,

I felt the earth shake

when you died

and all was ash.

But somehow from deep inside

I know you’ll have the final laugh.

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© 1979, 1980,

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*  Title comes from the time a DJ on the radio said, “And now we’re gonna float down Moon River on a cement slab” as he spun that popular song. We laughed till we cried. (Guess you woulda had to be there. )

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Siren

(From 1986)

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It screams a common wail

at night

while we in separate sleep

hear cries

of banshees calling for a mate

or

noon whistles – time for lunch

or

warnings of war

or

a bad opera

and

then we awaken

from our dreams

it’s someone else’s problem

we shrug our collective shoulders

and drift back

into the sleep

of apathy.

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 © 1986, 2013  Betty Hayes Albright

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Rendezvous

(from 1981 – I think this was originally written as a children’s poem – but the meaning for me has changed through the years.)

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I’ll see you

in each color

of the rainbow

or inside a bubble

foaming

on the sea;

I’ll find you

on the wing

of a hummingbird

or at the bottom

of a spot

of tea.

I’ll meet you

in the middle

of an Oreo

somewhere

on the edges

of a rhyme;

I’ll love you

at the tip

of the hour hand

resting

on the backside

of time.

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© 1981, 2012  Betty Hayes Albright 

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Dimension

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What is it

that makes us dream

an alternate reality

as if such possibility

had fleshed in,

begot life?

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(c) 1981, 2012  Betty Hayes Albright

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The Eagle and the Lioness – part 2 of 3

Called the lioness to the eagle,

it’s time for you to fly,

I’ve wakened from my dream now

and we have to say goodbye.

Goodbye, goodbye, my playful friend,

you brought such joy to me

as you sang in the branches

of the sapodilla tree.

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Sang the eagle to the lioness,

then why must it end?

Can’t we be friends forever

just like we’ve always been?

Could it be that I’ve hurt you

since I have another friend?

Is it because I’ve brought her here?

I cannot comprehend.

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Called the lioness to the eagle,

how could you not know -

it hurts to see her fly with you

when I must stay below.

Now fly to your lofty cliffs

and let my heart be free

to make room for another

in the sapodilla tree.

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Sang the eagle to the lioness,

this was our meeting ground.

We each brought many things to share,

this was our lost-and-found.

I found new things that I had missed,

and you found lost things too.

I’d hate to think that it’s all gone,

that now I have lost you.

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Called the lioness to the eagle,

but you have found a mate.

You never understood my love,

you can’t reciprocate.

But I’ll still be your friend somehow,

my thoughts will fly to you

on a higher meeting ground somewhere –

goodbye, my friend. Adieu.

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She watched him slowly turn away

and soar out to the sea

as her tears watered the roots

of the sapodilla tree.

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©  1983, 2012 Betty Hayes Albright

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The Eagle and the Lioness – part 1 of 3

(This was first posted last November, as a lone poem – but there are two more parts I neglected to share – to follow.)

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Called the lioness to the eagle,

let me fly with you

to your favorite places –

I long to see them too.

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Sang the eagle to the lioness,

I’ll never have you here.

You’re stuck on terra firma,

gravity has made that clear.

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Called the lioness to the eagle,

then nest down here with me.

You can have the highest branches

in the sapodilla tree.

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Sang the eagle to the lioness,

it’s teeth and claws I fear.

I’m sorry, but the sky is safe

and I must stay up here.

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Called the lioness to the eagle,

It’s safe here on the ground.

My paws have been declawed

and my teeth have been filed down.

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Sang the eagle to the lioness,

your muscles frighten me.

Just one of your embraces

and I would cease to be.

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Called the lioness to the eagle,

you won’t suffer my embrace.

I wouldn’t try to hold you

for I’ve given up the chase.

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Sang the eagle to the lioness,

you’d hypnotize me then .

Your eyes have such charisma

that I’d ne’er be free again.

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Called the lioness to the eagle,

I won’t gaze at you too long.

I could never mesmerize you

for your will is much too strong.

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Sang the eagle to the lioness,

then I will be your friend

in the sapodilla tree

until the sky calls me again.

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Purred the lioness to her heart,

we’ve won his trust this day.

She curled up underneath his wings

and hid desire away.

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© 1982, 2011 Betty Hayes Albright

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Turning Out

(Re-post from last August – for lack of anything new. )

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Children

are free flow

like liquid Jello,

sparkling

splashing

filling any form.

Why must we chill them,

make them set?

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(c) 1982, 2012  Betty Hayes Albright

Original pencil drawing (c) 1965

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No Such Thing as a Last Laugh

32 years ago today, Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington State, killing 57 people, including one of my dearest friends, her husband, and her two young children. Barb was always full of laughter, always saw the funny side of life.

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The poem below was written shortly after her death:

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Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980

 

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(in memory of Barb Pierce Morris Siebold, 1947 – 1980)

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 You laugh above the heads

of those who cannot see

your wings,

but those of us who do

always fly along with you.

Even in the rain

you soar above the mud

perching tall

in weeping willow irony

with smiles and a wink.

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But just this once

your takeoff was too slow.

Mount St. Helens grabbed you

in her smoky claws,

and with one spicy belch

she burned your wings away….

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I found a bird

the cat brought in,

buried it

with forget-me-nots.

Your laughter rose

from the dust

and flew

to the curlicue clouds.

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(c)1980, 2012 Betty Hayes Albright

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For another “Barb” poem (written 2-1/2 months before she died):  http://raindancepoetry.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/down-moon-river-on-a-cement-slab/

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Breakers

(from 1983)

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You dash me onto the rocks

with waves of passion

and watch bewildered

when nothing smatters.

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You try again

with swells of poetry.

This time I crumble

over the beach

and you etch your name

in the sand.

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(c)  1983,  2012 Betty Hayes Albright

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Hydrogen Atom (or Chemistry 101)

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You are nucleus

stable, self-contained,

I am electron

buzzing-surround

caught by attraction

held firmly in orbit

unable to split.

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©  1982,  2012  Betty Hayes Albright

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