Haunting Memories
When with the evening tide Silly games of Mumbly peg
I take my thoughts in stride Butter, cornbeef, salmon in a keg
Where's the driftwood lying in the sand? Poochkie* burns upon my face
It's a world I no longer understand! Canning salmon by the case
Where's the silence I once knew? Gathering mushrooms by the dozen
What happened to the slough? Playing cannery with my cousin
Porcupines gnawing on the bark Picking berries by the score
Owls hooting in the dark Spilled the bucket, pick some more
Coyotes howling in the night Root cellars dug deep in the hill
Silly spruce-hen's troubled flight Clear spring water, drank my fill
Remember, if you dare Painful digging of the turnip patch
Rainy days without a care Horrid mosquitoes make you scratch
Stirring ashes with a poker Old time memories linger in my mind
Strips of salmon in the smoker Of a world I can no longer find
Frying fish in cast iron pan Gathering coal upon the beach
Opening clams from a can Babushka* baking sweet Kulich*
Tyshee* hanging on a tree Cutting hay with a scythe*
Oh, memories set me free! From a saucer sipping chai*
Big green yoke upon my back, Canned butter on boolochki*
Splashing water, too much slack, Haunting memories set me free!
Playhouse under big spruce bough
I surely couldn't fit there now!
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*Tyshee is an Athabaskan Indian word for 'dried fish'.
*Poochki is a Ninilchik word for 'wild celery', apparently derived from the
Russian word for 'bunches of flowers'. The large whitish heads of
flowers on these tall plants with stalks (that look much like celery)
are striking.
*Babushka is Russian for 'grandmother'.
*Kulich is Russian for 'Easter bread'.
*Scythe is pronounced as "sigh" by old Ninilchik families.
*Chai is Russian for 'tea'.
*Boolochki is Russian for '(bread) rolls'.
Copyright (c) 1994 by Bobbie Oskolkoff. Used by permission.
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