Nose Bandage Blues

Oh, I can't see my food for my nose!
Now how do you suppose
That eating my food would cause such woes
Or that the size of the problem
Would be in proportion to my nose?
I thought I knew where my mouth was
Now I can't see my mouth for my nose!

To have the food miss my mouth is just gross
This bandage on my nose just seems to grow
I've been asked if it blinks red in the snow
Can I take it off? Oh no!
Not until the surgeon says it can go!
Until then my nose I can't blow
Pat, blot and wipe but never, ever blow!
Oh, I can't see my food for my nose!

Tell Her I'm Your Girlfriend

I had the brains and you had the brass
Who'd have thought that we could last
For fifty-five years
How on earth did we survive our past?
I was four and you had turned five
You certainly made my playtime come alive!
Around and around the block you came
All arms and legs and blonde hair that looked
Like a recent trip through a hurricane.
I heard laughing and shouting from your brothers and you
When you shouted to me I wasn't sure what to do.

You were attracted to my swing-set
But we hadn't even met as yet
So bold as brass you came up to the gate
Evidently becoming fast friends was our fate
My grandma was in the yard watching me
You said "tell her I'm your girlfriend!"
If it were today I would have thought,"Really?"
It bothered me that I was about to lie
But I was four so I hesitantly gave it a try
When it worked I was amazed and a little confused
I thought surely my grandmother knew the truth.

We played on the swings for hours it seemed
We swung so high until my grandma screamed
"Don't swing so high Marian, you'll bang your head on the tree!"
You got upset because you thought she had yelled at you
That's when I  learned that you were a Marian too!
So that's how it started the two Marians like two peas in a pod
What we would do had Mother saying "Oh my God!"
There was paper snow in the house and a flood in the basement
Riding in doll carriages to my grandma's amazement
Remember when we hid in the trunk room and grandma called the cops?
My two sisters were home, when we tried to hide again they made us stop!

We graduated to dancing on the thin porch railing
To music from the record player, our balance unfailing
I tried it first and then I convinced you to try
I'm sure the next door neighbors were thinking, "Oh my!"
They came out and watched us to make sure we didn't fall
But we kept right on dancing, we had a ball!
One year we braided our hair and undid it
That year we trick-or-treated as two Halloween witches.

We've stayed in touch over the years
Through children weddings and funerals and such
So many more memories but these were just a touch
Of our earliest highlights
And here we are still as we approach our twilight
Happy Birthday Mar, you're still older than me
By just a few months but you're still just as sweet!

Love,
The other Marian