Maybelle

You would be first to laugh 
At me missing the tribute
For you. Hala, senior moment!
You were always a cheerful soul
Though perhaps you hid it well
From the students who queued
Daily for your attention.
They had no inkling
How you found joy in little things.
Did they look into your eyes
While asking you to sign a dropping form?
Did they thank you for your wise counsel
About courses to take or not take?
Some complained you were unmoveable.
But we depended on you to be so.
And you took the flak every time.
Were you tired of all that?
You left so suddenly
Your things and knick-knacks
Still on your desk
The space you knew so well
You could tell me where to find
The document we needed
When I ran an errand for you
During the first lockdown.
More than twenty years in the post!
Or was it thirty or longer?
The alumni know your name
Better than everyone else's.
Miss Maybelle. 
Not even the deans can compare.
And you could recall many of them.
What batch. What course.
What award received.
You were a super APO!
And a super friend everyone of us
Relied on. Always present
And dancing with enjoyment
At our staff parties.
You were going to make the trip to Bicol!
We were waiting for the lockdown to end!
We will miss you, Maybelle.
But rest now. Rest now.

Advertisement