A Birthday Poem for Zick!

 

Listen my friends and you shall peruse

A birthday poemic for Julie Zickefoose.

She's turning today an indeterminate age

so we'll honor her with pictures and words on this page.

 She's an artist of birds, and of flowers, and of bats

She's a birding savant not afraid to wear hats

She can write words that move any reader to tears

she's been blogging like blazes for more than eight years.

It may appear odd, but I feel I should mention

She can never pass by without sniffing rose gentian

For those who don't know, a gentian's a flower

and as an aside, Julie lives in a tower

The view from that tower is something spectacular

or "ossum" in southeast Ohio's vernacular

We've been blessed with two children, Liam and Phoebe

And a Boston terrier who's saying "Hey! What about me-be?"

Of course you're our third kid, Chet Baker, don't fret

Your kisses and gasses won't let us forget

 * * * *

Julie loves music from her head to her toes

She loves rocking out with her band The Rain Crows

As a singer/songwriter Julie's mind is quite fertile

Her most famous tune concerns saving box turtles

At a recent band gig where there might have been ale

The Rain Crows were thrown in the Fayette County Jail

Soon the Crows were set free before facing the noose

When the judge recognized the famous Ms. Zickefoose

"OMG!" Said His Honor "I so totally loved...

that story where you glued down the scalp of a dove!"

* * * *

Last winter we spent nearly 400 hours

Building a sanctum for all of Zick's flowers

That's less time than we spent in building our OWN house

which is why we refer to this greenhouse as GROANhouse

But when the snow flies and the weather is crappy

inside the groanhouse The Zick is quite happy

Her happiness is dog, iphone and wine, oh!

But she's happier, still, when she's scratching a rhino!

* * * *

When she talks, people listen with enraptured attention

She kneels before butterflies, devoid of pretension

She has fans who will travel long distance to see her

And so many of us still aspire to BE her.

Way back in the 90's when I first met this girl

I had no idea how my life would unfurl

Then we moved to Ohio and 20 years on

It's hard to believe just how fast the time's gone

So to you my dear Julie here's this long birthday verse

After reading it I hope you feel better, not worse.

Too many things in this life we can't choose

But I'm pleased to be known as Mister Zickefoose.

I think of how many lives you have touched

and it's easy to see why I love you so much.

Happy birthday, Zick!