Margie, the Arborist, the poem, and the song

Apologies for this very long post. You can skip down to the bottom to read Margie’s poem if you like.

Woke at 5, eager to start work on my new piano assignment, a traditional Yiddish lullaby in an arrangement written in 1880 by Abraham Goldfaden, the “father of Yiddish theatre.” He had an on-again-off-again relationship to Zionism in a time when all the land now known as Israel was called Palestine, and while Jews in Romania were subject to deathly anti-semitism. The song, in Goldfaden’s play Shulamith, is sung by “a widowed daughter of Zion” in Jerusalem. Whatever the politics of the song, I find the melody enchanting, and one of my dearest friends used to sing it to her children. I found a Youtube of the song being played by someone at about my level, so here it is, if anyone is interested and has a minute and six seconds to listen to it. (My piano sounds much deeper and richer.)

I had gone over to Sue’s last night to borrow the car, so I dropped off a heap of stuff at the thrift/charity shop, dashed to the bank, and then set out to Beaverton to water the plants for some people who are out of town. There I saw a skilled arborist taking down a massively tall tree, chopping off the branches and lowering them on ropes, and then carefully descending, removing two or three feet of trunk at a time till he had it down to ground level (Extra).

Plants watered, neighbors consulted, I came back to town to meet Margie. I hadn’t had time for lunch, so I took her to a Vietnamese restaurant. 

“Oh great!” she shouted, “Something new! I’ve never been to a Vietnamese place. I’ll just have a coffee and a few tastes of whatever you’re having.”

Her Vietnamese coffee was strong enough to stand a spoon in, and while she loves strong coffee, she’s not a fan of condensed milk. I had basil tofu with some tough carrots and green beans, which she thought was "too sweet."  She concluded, laughing, “I’m glad we came, so I know not to come back.”

Returning to her place, I played a Youtube of the Goldfaden lullaby for her, in a six-minute version with a singer who explains it and then performs it in both Yiddish and English, and Margie was charmed by it. I asked her if her mother ever sang it to her, and she rocked back in her chair howling with laughter.

“My mother spoke Yiddish, but she was not a lovey-dovey kind of person. You would not find her singing a lullaby. No. I’ve never heard it before. But something about it sounds familiar, like other things I may have heard.”

Then Margie looked a little wistful and asked, “Do you remember what I used to do when I was able to get around more?”

I reminded her that she drove a car till she was 92 (no memory), she liked to paint with watercolors (no recognition), she was part of a writing group (“really?” she seemed doubtful), and she loved hiking. 

“Oh hiking, yes,” she said with great pleasure. “Hiking. I miss that. I miss my feet on the earth,” she gestured with both hands suggesting an uphill, uneven trail. “I miss the trees, the birds, the bushes, everything, but mostly I miss my feet climbing up, up, up, and my body straining and loving it. I think I must have done a lot of hiking?” We talked about hiking. Then she observed, “Trees die. Nature knows that. It's OK, dying. I'm not worried about it. I'm ready. What did I write?”

I showed her this poem, and she read it aloud, amazed to learn that she herself wrote it. “That was how many years ago?”

“Ten years ago.”

“It’s a very good poem,” she decided. “I’m glad you knew where to find it. Let me see it again.”

She allowed me to take it home to type it up, but she cautioned me several times to remember to bring it back. I promised.

I Got Older While I Wasn’t Looking

Now I know why old people are always tired
It takes vigilance to make it through life
Vigilance eats energy like a hungry beast —

Be Alert:
You have to watch your every step so you don’t fall

Be Mindful:
You have to make lists 
And lists of the lists so you don’t forget the list
Then you have to remember where you put your list

Be Upbeat: 
You have to stay spirited and cheerful
otherwise you will drag yourself down

Be Creative:
People’s names
Forget it
I gave that up a long time ago
Just say “Hi”

Be Smart:
Where did I leave the phone
What did I do last?

Be Focused:
Don’t lose focus for a second
Pay attention
Pay attention 
Pay attention 

Be A Know It All:
Why am I in this room?
What was I looking for?

I’m going to lie down and read a book
for a while and take a break
from real life.

By Margie Karter 
2014