Lucky Thirteen Poem by Kim Barney

A birthday wish for my friend Flo,
for she has turned thirteen!
She's different from most girls, though;
she's not a beauty queen.

She's like a bird perched on a branch
without a single leaf.
No make-up for this simple girl;
she's plain beyond belief.

She likes to hike among the hills
and spend her time outside.
She doesn't sit and dream about
the day she'll be a bride.

I went to meet her yesterday
and brought my dog Tupi
so we could hike up Diamond Fork
and see what we could see.

Her little brother, Billy Joe,
was on his turbo trike,
and Billy wondered, could he go
and join us on our hike?

I said, why not? And went inside
to look for my best friend.
I found Flo underneath the sink,
and she was at wit's end.

They had a broken disposal.
Monday was the first day
that someone could come to fix it,
but she tried anyway!

They also had no Internet.
Router was not plugged in.
When she found such an easy fix,
she spouted a huge grin.

She couldn't even rue the fact
her kitchen wasn't neat;
a pile of broken tubas stacked
there, hazards for the feet.

Grease on her face and on the wall;
eye-catching, that's for sure,
but she said 'It'll wipe right off, '
and then said nothing more.

Outside, we found the sky was grey,
lingering clouds above.
I had to button up my coat,
and tug upon my glove.

A car parked on the street took off
and drove too near the pup.
Tupi ran hard as he could, but
he never did catch up.

Tupi kept running circles ‘round
young Billy and his trike,
which made our progress slow or stop
at times upon our hike.

'Hold on, my friends, for I smell a
scent of musk! ' I exclaimed.
No one likes skunks, so we turned back,
for which we can't be blamed.