On the Occasion of the Ninetieth

A poem in honor of Irmgard Hörmann by Fritz Fritschel

Tales for each of nine decades

Strung in Hormannian fashion

Heard probably twice or more,

Told with enthralling passion

Though listeners have sworn

Never to have heard repetitions—

So enthralling is the storyteller

Of Aiea Heights Drive.

Now ninety years alive.

 

Nine decades, we hasten to add

Does not translate into decad-ence,

But for us a living history

Likely inaugurated in the Wilsonian years,

Gathering speed in the Roaring Twenties,

Facing challenges of the ominous Thirties

And the furious, fighting of the Forties.

On and on the epic travels,

With names, dates, conflicts and resolutions

Woven by deft memory that ne’er unravels

From one perched on Aiea Heights

To the awed crowd’s delights.

 

Tied together in warp and woof

Tales hang together, beginning to end,

Healing the frayed threads of human life,

Exploring the fame and foibles of family,

Discovering the richness of relationships,

Dreaming dreams of what is yet to be—

All with innocent enthusiasm

Generating warmth and love.

 

And so our love, so touched,

Is warmly extended

To a life not yet ended

Overflowing with gratitude and goodwill.

Fortunate to have Irmgard nested within our lives,

We allow her spirit so embodied

To fly the heavens wide

Seeding the earth with more tales of warmth and love.

Fritz Fritschel
July 2007


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