Steve Irwin 'The Crocodile Hunter' (In Memorial) Poem by Luke Easter

I think the year was 1996, maybe 97,
I received a call from my good friend Kevin,
“Man you’ve got to watch this guy named Steve Irwin,
In the swamps with gators & crocs he should be called Merlin.”

'As in the magician I asked? ' Well the reply was, 'not quite,
This dude is for real, with his hands there is no slight, '
With nothing else on, I turned to give him a view,
Whoa, now the number of fans will be at least two.

A star was born in the swamp on that summer day,
Risking his life while calling it play,
Where was this Irwin guy from? Australia, no wonder,
I’ve always heard they do things different Down Under.

Not that it’s a bad thing, remember the brothers Gibb?
Like their music, it was a different style that he lived,
With that accent and huge genuine smile on his face,
Definitely couldn’t have been from any other place.

Looking back at the hours and years of entertaining,
It’s sad to realize we’ll only see him on film remaining,
As he became ever more professional in his chosen craft,
Always managing to give a scare only to end with a laugh.

Steve thought mankind more ferocious than a lion’s lair,
Even said getting married seemed to give him a scare,
After seeing Terri, his supportive wife with him on the show,
You knew about that remark he was joking, you know.

Snakes, hippos, whatever there was never an end,
Little did these creatures know what a wonderful friend,
How can Steve Irwin be described, where would one begin?
Another untimely death let this be the beginning, not the end.

We live in a me first world that’s mostly about high society,
Here was a mere mortal, who cared little about notoriety,
Steve’s smile was lovingly mirrored on Bindi, his little girl's face,
How proud she was of him, no one will ever take his place.

For sure many such shows have begun to paddled up stream,
My what a joy, family entertainment, fun, educational and clean,
Yes, Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter is no longer the only one,
Just try telling that to his lovely wife, daughter and Bob their son.

Imagine Irwin telling St. Peter he’s early only to be told he’s late,
I can see the Croc Hunter scratching his head standing by the Pearly Gates,
'You see Steve, God Almighty is about to start His Heavenly Zoo,
When I asked Him who was going to be in charge, He smiled & said you.'