Haiku, Limericks, and Songs

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From Lois Gates Mortensen. Here are some thoughts that came to my mind about East High School in Haiku form. I’ve enjoyed all of your songs, thoughts, and poems.  Thank you for being you!  I’m looking forward to rubbing shoulders with you again!  

  • *Memories of East High
  • Class of nineteen sixty nine,
  • Fifty years ago.
  • *Learning, laughter, love,
  • Leopards join the fight.
  • Those were big league days!
  • *Through the good and bad,
  • Joining everyday at school
  • Learned to face the world.
  • *Tremendous Teachers
  • Guiding, training, assisting
  • Pristine wisdom light!
  • *Language, music, art,
  • Science, dances, clubs and sports,
  • All were in the mix.
  • *Ahh Youth, such great strength!
  • Thinking back just makes us smile.
  • Are we better now?
  • *Years and years will tell
  • Our bodies are in good shape
  • For the shape they’re in!
  • *Friends have passed and gone.
  • Memories of them never fade,
  • Love for them adorned!
  • *Stout stories we have,
  • Years of Yarn to share with all,
  • Greeting once again.
  • *Fighting for the right
  • We’ll continue everyday,
  • World a better place!
  • *Ourselves making dreams,
  • Serving humanity well,
  • Never forgetting!
  • *Memories of East High

From Evan Maw  Original 50th Reunion composition with photos and memories. https://youtu.be/R3BEDr0e0fE

From Steve Rich (husband of Melinda Snow)  

To the tune of "I'll Follow the Sun" by the Beatles.

One day, we'll find, 
Our friends are gone,
But, we're gathering now!
So, come see everyone!

Two days, great times!
We hope you'll come!
September 5th and 6th!
Come see everyone!

We'll have a great time then! 
And so, my love, you must go!
Come on, we're still your friends
And in the end you will know
Oh-oh-oh

Don't come? You'll find
The time has gone!
You’ll be sad and complain, so
Come see everyone!

'FIFTY YEARS' to the music of "YESTERDAY" by the Beatles. Steve Rich lyrics version

  • Fifty years,
  • Now the time for our reunion nears,
  • When we greet old friends with smiles and tears,
  • Can you believe it’s fifty years?
  • Suddenly, I find I’m immersed in memory,
  • Of our youth and how things used to be,
  • In light of our maturity.
  • We’ll talk fam’lies or reminisce,
  • But who can say?
  • Man! It’s been so long!
  • I remember yesterday….
  • Football days!
  • We’d break bones now, if we tried to play.
  • And our knees won’t take it anyway.
  • We all were heroes, yesterday.
  • Come and see,
  • All your classmates as they’ve come to be.
  • How we spent our bright futurity.
  • We all grew up, eventually.
  • We get wise and kind with perspective,
  • So they say.
  • Don’t pass this one up!
  • September 5th, it’s yesterday!

GET BACK TO WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED By the Beatles. New lyrics, Steve Rich

  • Jojo was a man who thought his friends forgot him,
  • He’d let this reunion pass.
  • Everyone would be there, havin’ fun, but not him.
  • He’d sit this one out (alas!).
  • Get back! Get back!
  • Get back to where you once belonged!
  • Get back! Come back!
  • Our class is where you once belonged!
  • Get back, Jojo! Go home!
  • Get back! Get back!
  • Get back to where you started from!
  • We’ll miss you, man!
  • Get back to where you once belonged!
  • Jojo said to his girl, Sweet Loretta Martin,
  • “Come on, Babe! We’re goin’ home!”
  • “You’ll hear stories there of when I was a rascal!
  • These guys are the ones who know!”
  • “I set, a sluff-ing record! Never once was caught.”
  • “You think, I’m old, and slow!
  •  But, Baby, no I’m not!”
  • Get back Loretta! Go home!

HELP! Verse 1 (to the tune of “Help” by the Beatles)

  • Help!
  • You know I need somebody!
  • Help! To recognize somebody!
  • Help! They look familiar, though.
  • Plea-e-ese!
  • When we were younger, so much younger than toda-a-y,
  • I knew their smiles, their hair, their look in every way!
  • But some just look so strange, the baldness, wrinkled ski-i-in,
  • It seems like someone kidnapped them, and let their parents in!
  • Help me if you can! I’m in a ja-a-am!
  • And they absolutely know just who I a-a-am!
  • It’s so embar-ras-sing! I don’t know the-e-em!
  • Won’t you PLEASE, PLEASE help me-e—ee—eeee?

Verse 2 (Sung through gritted teeth)

  • Help! I need somebody!
  • Help! But please, no former girlfriends!
  • Help! Can’t find the men’s room!
  • Oh! Plea-e-ese!
  • When I was younger, so much younger than today,
  • This never happened once to me! Not in any way!
  • But now I’ve talked too long, I may look self-assured,
  • When there was time, it skipped my mind,
  • I can’t wait anymore!
  • Help me if you can, I’m feeling pre-e-essed.
  • See? I’m dyin’ here!  My organs need a re-e-est!
  • Can’t you see I’m suffering distre-e-ess?
  • Won’t you PLEASE, PLEASE help me-e—ee—eeee?

From Mike Rudert

ROT

  • See what time has wrought
  • Once familiar, now unknown
  • Name tags are required 

From Jim McCullough

Heartache

  • Fifty years later
  • Prostate examination
  • A total bummer

From Dave Seiler

Yearbook - to the music of "Diary" https://youtu.be/JnqweIEUL6o

Something - to the music of "Something" https://youtu.be/Ck3us9QK4-Q

Reunion Time - the the music of "Leavin' On A Jet Plane https://youtu.be/W85fKIwj1pE

Until We're Gone - to the music of "In My Life"   https://youtu.be/VBj9Gib_dOQ

Friends That We Made There - to the music of "Proud Mary" https://youtu.be/zfvLs1wwNo0

From Kate Whitney Neilson

  • It flew from the East.
  • Not knowing who to summons. 
  • It followed the wind - and found you and me ready.
  • Oh, do tell what the day will bring.
  • Will it be greatness or the softness when all the birds sing?
  • Oh, woman what do you mean?
  • I fear we need less greatness and more truth foreseen.
  • Then let us all be a part of the reason, 
  • Of standing up strong and right for all seasons.

From Susan Stevens Kaelin:

I won't be able to attend the reunion dinner on September 5, but I've been thinking so much about our 50th. We graduated from East High, men walked on the moon, Woodstock happened! I was also thinking about Lorraine Bowman being killed in the auto accident that summer and how the A Cappella choir sang at her funeral. No one conducted us. We just all sang together. Anyway, I have a Haiku entry. It's a Haiku set. Here goes:

Leopard Seasons

  • Autumn in my mind,
  • October's brown leaves rustle.
  • Names no longer come.
  •  
  • Then summer's warm smile,
  • Your head turns just so, and I
  • Am back fifty years.
  •  
  • Gray hair golden now,
  • Furrows melt away. I see
  • Your spring heart still. 

From Kate Whitney Nielsen:

EASH HIGH LEOPARD SONG  Paraphrased for 50th Reunion

L- is LEADERS who will help the less fortunate 

E - is the ENERGY we give to others   

O - is OPPORTUNITIES to help our 'brothers'     

 P - is the POWER to work through all our struggles

 A - is ACHIEVEMENTS gained through hard work     

 R - is to eradicate all RACISM and hate in our country

 D - is to DISCOVERY how much you're WORTH is     

 S - is STRENGTH to stand for what is right

From Dan Brown: (with help from Peggy Scott Youngs, Holly Williams Schelin and Marv Curtis)

  • There once was a lad from east High
  • Whose language skills wanted to ply
  • With girls he’d speak French
  • While they sat on a bench
  • With boys he’d just nod and say “hi"

From John Adamson:

Here’s my haiku. I turned this in to Miss Lewis, Week 1  Sophomore English. Couldn’t come up with a thing, tapping my pen on the end table in our living room next to this little piece of driftwood my dad brought back from Korea and suddenly—voila! 

  • Once this drifted wood
  • Left an ancient Asian shore
  • Now it collects dust.