Livia's poem - Meron 26.3.04

Are you lonesome once more
Are your feet swollen and sore
Do your bones ache right down to the core?
Did you walk on and on
Is your strength now all gone?
And you can’t believe that wake-up is dawn.

Are you waiting  to go and to start the good snore
Just relax, I’m not finished, you’ll hear I have more.
This is my history lesson, a look at the past
It is hard to believe the  years have all gone  so  fast.
Since the long-term memory is what stays to the last,
Let’s go back to the  time  on the grass.

We each said a few words of ourselves or our mate,
And that is the way that we all sealed our fate.
Once a month and a weekend, each year is the same,
And someone - was it  Robi? - found our ridiculous name.

I may not remember where we’ve been what we’ve seen,
Not the guides not the sites not the places we’ve been,
So I’ll mention just a few highlights of note,
Not this stone not that stone and  not this old moat.

There was Frankie and Shifi who both set the tone,
They got guides and got worries and big bills for the phone.
And on one of the first trips Maureen got all wet,
When she fell in the river, it’s hard to forget.
She was damp, she was cold, but her spirits were high,
And her pants, they were blowin’ out the window to dry,

We have really  been lucky as you soon will  see,
And the only real damage - my  broken knee.

We’ve lost our dear Victor  with  girls by his side,
Who would chair Knesset meetings with a great deal of pride.
But other constants we know  will be there,
Like kilos of candy offered by Harry Sher,
Like all of us peeing out in the bush,
And hoping there is no one to glance at our tush.

Now some tiyulim-
There was Meir Pail who never seemed to get done,
Who left us out standing for hours  in the sun,
And who can forget when each guide made a fuss,
At  Jazr a Zarka as we passed on the bus.

We went to the south, Hazirim was the place,
And we toured the museum of a big air force base,
Who can forget  Helen, the sweet little dear,
Who wanted to know “How many helicopters do you have here?”
And the silence came down,
And we saw the guide frown,
And they wanted to run us all out of the town.

When Vadi Gov was hard for all,
And Harry helped and so did Paul,
And thru the ropes we  had to pass,
Who remembers the image of Diane’s ass?

And on that trip we limped along,
At night too tired for a song,
Our dear friend Benny did it all with a cane
But of course, he’s a likudnik – I know he’s insane.

And much more recently, Zofit,
Do you remember David’s sexy feet?
An uncomplaining hero for once in his life,
Maybe for you - but not for his  wife.

And  on the weekends let’s not forget Mike,
Who gets a bit peckish after a hike,
And wants fish and chips at the end of the day,
But eats washed-out chicken and says it’s gourmet.

It is hard to get in all the trips here and there
Thanks to  teams of the Zetlers and  Diane Sher
And  the Spanish connection  which gave us direction
We thank you while we feel the  sprains in each section,
Of our ageing bodies, getting evermore sore,
Yet we come out each trip and we ask for more.

We’ve been pushed, we’ve been shlepped,
we’ve been shoved from behind
Which really does prove that we’re out of our mind,
It appears that there are some things we all have forgot,
That we’re getting too old, we should be on a yacht 

We have  musicians and photographers on duty each time,
But I’m having trouble getting them into my  rhyme
And there may be others who should be in my verse,
But if I go on much longer, this can only get worse.

Now we have a slight problem, listen to me.
She’s nice and she’s new and her name is Adi.
She bakes each time cause “Cyril likes it that way.”
Cyril, learn to eat bought stuff if you want to stay. 

Are you lonesome but fed?
Have you heard what I said,
Tell me dears, are you ready for bed?

Now that I’ve done this poem- one request,
Please oh please don’t make me take the test.