See how our tree of friendship has grown
From one tiny seedling; so straight and so strong?
See how many the branches that grew
From your caring for me and my caring for you?

Have we not feasted on fruit it does bear,
Nurtured by all the memories we share?
Come with me now; Step back in time,
As we walk through a garden of the years left behind:

I remember so well the cokes that you brought
In the light of the moon, though I ordered them not.
And you and your keys in the mud and the mire;
Where all we could see were two eyes full of fire.

Now a word of warning I’m giving to you
Stay away from back doors: Don’t Ever Pass Through
For they’re all lined with tunnels that never do end
And it takes you two months to come back again.

So, tell me, my friend, and don’t spare the lies
Did you think we would paint for the rest of our lives?
Did it really take all those gallons of paint
And what WAS my mother’s major complaint?

I remember the walking for hours and hours,
The strange looking weed in the tub full of flowers,
The Flight on the Lemmons, no hammer, no nail,
Nobody at home: five hundred for bail.

Two pints of Jack Daniels, the life of the party
Two reasons to laugh; a Laurel and Hardy;
You were the straight man; I was the clown,
You set them up and I knocked ‘em down.

I sometimes recall with laughter and tears
A long friendly tail with two fuzzy ears
He’d gobble down Breakfast Jacks; eat like a hog,
Looked like a cowboy but barked like a dog.

I picture you pregnant, we thought it was twins;
A belly so big on legs toothpick thin
Shopping and Shopping, we just couldn’t stop
We spent all our money on a horse that would rock.

Let’s take a vacation we both agreed
Go south of the border, smoke us some weed.
We jumped in the water, swam to the reef
Got chased by a fish with long pointed teeth!

Remember the Christmas I danced through your dreams?
Popped all your buttons; created a scene?
Remember the red lights flashing outside
The package of Kools – you nearly died!

We’ve journeyed the years and traveled in style
Through thousands of tears and millions of smiles.
And the tree that we planted so long ago
Still nurtured with Love will continue to grow.

So thank you, my friend, for the joy that you give
And thank you for helping me learn how to live
And though the future may find us miles apart
I’ll always carry you close to my heart.