Here it is in text...how fun it was in action!1998, they got together like it was fate
That 11 years later here we would stand
United with friends, family – let’s understand
The journey has been well earned
Every year, more growth to make
Learning from successes, freefalls and mistakes
These gals are distinctly special
Their blend of science, art and style
They’ll help you when you think you simply can’t go that very next mile
They’ll challenge when it’s warranted
They’ll hold when it seems right
They’re comfort in this world where things sometimes just don’t feel quite right
The two are intertwined in spirit and in life
But willing to expand despite predicted strife
So that their lives become both rich and true and deepen
More and more
From outside looking in, it’s hard to know what’s all in store
For they travel and they risk, they question and they act
There’s not one here among us who would challenge this known fact
We’ve got a pair here before us who in their living makes this world
A better place to raise our children, shed the anger, let hearts unfurl
They deepen our relations, embrace that which is real
Their honesty and willingness all part of their appeal
Take ‘em one by one, Lara’s art brings a new lens
Through the camera, in her painting, perspective and color blend
So to offer new ways of thinking, expand our minds, expand our hearts
A bodhisattva in the making greater than the sum of her own parts
Science blends with art, a dash erotic, come hold my hand
She’ll join you on that trip you’re taking to the promise land
She captures essence of this life, attends the nuance as well the bold
Her heart so true and real and seen, the core from which love unfolds
Melissa too a complex gal who thrives against all odds
Resilient, spin-your-head brilliant, the ideas she’ll poke and prod
Until she’s found a whole new way to consider the first main point
Her investigative questions will never disappoint
Because it shows you that she cares, that she’s listening beyond your words
Curiosity extending from global politics to birds…
This woman’s mind however sharp is only one of the key parts
Melissa is a woman who moves deeply from her heart
Metered passion more internal though it’ll show itself full blown
She’s got more integrity and empathy than anyone I’ve known
Tonight we honor passages; one of mind and one of age
Lara’s reached her 40’s and Melissa is the sage
Of Oaxacan forest products, environmental anthropology
Let’s put our hands together for Doc Poe and her PhD
Tonight we celebrate this pair equal in their power
To believe in what is possible, take action in this hour
When life feels more challenging than perhaps in times before
When “global economic downturn” threatens to knock right at the door
Here stands the answer to prosperity, of heart and soul and mind
With more of them we’d sure do better advancing humankind
Happy Birthday, Lara, Congratulations, Meliss
This is such a celebration I would never want to miss
A chance to tell you once again how proud I am, how amazed
And how I love you so very much and your brilliant, creative ways!
