Love Poem: Ode To a Ukulele
Charles Sides Avatar
Written by: Charles Sides

Ode To a Ukulele

Ode To a Ululele A soprano uke was what I had A birthday present to me from Dad And with a Mel Bay book “How to Play” I practiced a little every day Learning chords is quite a fight Need to finger them just right Each string totally clear Progress slowly came along Finally I could play a song A task that took a year My friend took me to a friend of his A guy who played a uke like a whiz I’d never heard of a “Baritone” Now I got to get one of my own Found it in the music store On the wall, up off the floor T’was a beautiful sight When I took it from the wall “Take me home” I heard it call I bought it with delight My musical prowess did increase My love for that uke never did cease A party uke as good as it gets Play, sing the songs, I couldn’t quit College years it was a hit Roomy and I sang duet Talent shows were our thing The songs were fun, don’t you know A Homer and Jethro show Oh how my uke did sing Flight testing the Boeing AWACS plane Flying Demos for the NATO chain Twenty nine thousand feet in the air My uke had a banjo love affair A bar in Europe one night A uke and banjo delight No one would leave that scene Somehow the uke got a whack I saw the top had a crack I screamed till I turn green Through High School, College and Bachelorhood Loved that piece of mahogany wood Then set aside for family and work Care of the uke, a job I did shirk When I took it out to play I was bad, what can I say But the uke sounded fine Wiped that uke till it was clean I didn’t mean to be mean It said “play me some time” Years in the closet, total neglect The tension on the strings had an effect Out of the closet it came one day Oh no, the action’s too high to play Repair man said, “Cost too much” Needs a neck reset and such It’s more than it is worth That’s a heavy blow to take Oh so sad that my heart did ache The saddest guy on earth Repaired a guitar in later years Then thoughts of my old uke reappeared Fix the old uke and do it myself That’s when I took it down from the shelf Read about a neck reset Give it a try, no regret I thought nothing to lose In two weeks I had it done Felt like I’d hit a home run The tests were all good news The uke was easy to play again I had given life to my old friend For sixty long years that uke was mine It’s time to pass it on down the line Gave to my daughter and girls I knew they’d cherish my pearl Now it’s a legacy With the best sound in the world And a future yet to unfurl Music’s its destiny