Well, I am a lucky person this week as I was the recipient of two poems and a few messages from friends and colleagues back home in PEI. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to respond to Anouk’s call for letters! Your thoughts and words were truly appreciated and I have to say that the timing couldn’t have been better for me. It was exactly the kind of pick me up that I was in need of this week.

Very special among the messages was a poem written by my talented mother. For those who don’t know, she is a playwright, author and writer of poetry when the muse catches her. I want to share the one that she wrote specially for me:

Cheryl has journeyed to the Garden of Eden

Surrounded by as many exotic trees, birds & animals as she could need em

She cruises down the river with hippos

Each evening at home she jumps in the pool for a dip-o

She will be dressing the hippos in pink tutus

& painting the elephants toenails for YouTube

& don’t you suppose that very very soon

There will be a suffragette movement among the baboons?

The zebras will wear purple ribbons on their p.j’s

& the cheetah girls will be dancing pussycat dj’s.

To crown it al the forest will sing

When she runs the campaign for a Lion King!

She has knights in shining amour at her call and a Saint to boot!

Meanwhile she eats her fill of exotic meat & fruit.

She claims to be spoiled and treated like a princess

But as to her Father & I, we must insist

She has been, is and always will be, our PRINCESS!

Thank you Mom! It is wonderful and you are the only one that I know that could put suffragette and baboons in the same sentence. I love it!

My second poem of the week came last night from the multi-talented Peter. In honour of #3, Miss USA, Adrienne who leaves to return to the US today we were all presented with this poem written in honour of us last night.

SATURDAY NIGHT SAGA

 

Plot 22290

The home of 4 girls and a hero

 

The place remains a haven for 6 days a week

Calm, quiet and even the owls can sleep

 

And THEN each Saturday night

The 4 wicked witches on their brooms take flight.

 

Out comes the vodka by the bottle, trays of ice and a tree of lemon

And, oh the language, has such venom

 

The hero finds a place to hide, with 1 dog, 9 birds, 2 tortoises, 2 cats and 2 fish

Just how long will this party last they wish

 

As the hours go past, the screaming becomes more intense,

The neighbours take refuge in holes dug behind the fence

 

And suddenly all is quiet, deadly silence, and the darkness does thicken,

Then comes the sound of breaking bones and the crunching of dead chicken

 

All remaining live animals take refuge in the trees

The hero appears from between the leaves – “Three more vodkas please”.

 

But the witch from the attic must say good bye and fly away,

Hopefully she will not leave the buggered Toyota in the driveway.

 

Their names are legendary, and for those who wish to know more

Simply 1 – 2 – 3 and 4

 

Oh but for those who have shared the Saturday Night

We will miss you all, when you take flight.

 

And now you have proof that the curmudgeonly Peter secretly loves having a house full of women that he can tease, laugh at and spoil. The poor man is stuck with me for another 13 months so I can only imagine what his parting words will be for me then…..