There once was a woman named Helen Cecile
married and happy, her life surreal.
Many an escapade made us laugh,
silliness multiplied gaffe by gaffe.
I remember a day we spent at the zoo
where she created quite the to-do.
On the visitor’s side of the animal’s moat
she suddenly blanched and cleared her throat.
Shaking she stood near the pacing jaguars
knee red and swollen, stuck between bars.
Zookeepers rushed to embarrassing scene,
saving the day, they applied vaseline.
Seeking calm and less to-do
we headed to the petting zoo.
She laughed out loud patting the goats
who gathered round her petticoats.
Closing time near, she strolled through the gate,
stopped short and turned, sensing less weight.
Waving at us, with her once-flowered purse
she swore at the goats. You are perverse!
Her purse, you see, was now quite bald
they’d nudged and ate, till it was mauled.
My mother’s name was Helen Cecile,
life with her was surely surreal.
In between faults lie love and gaffes
missing-her-tears, softened by laughs.
I’m behind here….written for day 17 of Napowrimo: Prompt was to write about a family anecdote. Need to catch up with days 18, 19 and today, 20. More to come.
lillian the home poet 
Wonderful!!! I see some similarities.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well….she was an interesting woman, that’s for sure! 🙂
LikeLike
Can’t wait for more!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Still trying to catch up….sigh. Hosting dVerse today…stop by!
LikeLike
Your poem made me smile…and the photo of your mother made an even bigger smile! She must have been quite a lady. Great poem!!
Dwight
LikeLiked by 1 person
She was something all right! 🙂 And these two stories are real….I didn’t include the one where she was making chocolate chip cookies and I suddenly heard this loud thump,thump,thump and her suddenly swearing…then silence. I went into the kitchen and there was the entire stick of butter in the mixing bowl, with its wrapper still on and now chewed up….and she only said, “Well, it called for a stick of butter!” Honest! …and she really did have all her marbles, as they say. She was just….scatterbrained sometime!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a hoot! She was special!
LikeLike
Delightful vignettes, Lillian!
LikeLiked by 1 person
…and true! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a wonderful tribute. She must have been a wonderful woman. I like the part about the goats eating her purse, lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well….we laughed at that one a lot more than when her knee was stuck. One time, in Florida, when I was in about 5th grade, we were on the beach and she was putting sun tan lotion all over her and my dad and she kept saying, “this is so hard to rub in!” She started to put it on me, and being about 12 I was embarassed to have her do that so grabbed the plastic bottle from her and started to do it myself. I suddenly noticed a wierd dauber on the top of the bottle, looked at the label, and it said “Supra Bone-Colored Shoe Polish.” Honest!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Shoe polish! That IS a knee slapper, lol
LikeLike
A funny and much loved woman ~ Love the personal share Lillian ~
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed, Grace. She did some pretty silly things in her lifetime! 🙂
LikeLike
Sounds like your mother was a beautiful character, Lil….
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 “character” being the key word!
LikeLike
Nice line: “In between faults lie love and gaffes”. Beautiful remembrance of her.
LikeLiked by 1 person
…and that is true. She did some pretty horrible things in her lifetime…but the silly things are the ones I remember….or maybe choose to remember?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha… what a family story. getting stuck between bars and having her purse eaten… some days, some days are just like that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, and that really did happen! LOL
LikeLike
Wow! A great story! When I was a child, my family (and Aunt Mary) went to the zoo. We were by the lions’ cage (kind of above us) and my Aunt said, “what a beautiful lion!” It backed up to the bars and peed all over her. I’ll never forget that! I know it’s the same with yours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Could that have been the zoo in St. Louis? My husband had the same thing happen to him there…and it was about 90 degrees with awful humidity — man did he smell! 🙂 Threw out the shirt and drove home bare chested 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so feel for him! No, in my hometown of Michigan City, Indiana. The zoo is still there on Lake Michigan but the lion area is different now. My Aunt looked so rejected when it happened, then it turned to disgust and horror. I bet that was a long ride home.
LikeLike
Laughing and loving this. And feeling the tears as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep 🙂 Glad you enjoyed, Charley.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Marvelous tribute to no doubt, an Extraordinary woman. 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed! She was a character! 🙂
LikeLike