Aw. I'm All Snuffly.

I like Garth Nix fine. I read Sabriel and got through all of Shade's Children with hands ah-shakin'. Still, Mr. Nix is a YA author and them's a whole different breed o' critter than I usually pay attention to (I reckon). Yet when I heard from the Gail Gauthier blog that Mr. Nix had created a Viking poem for deceased Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, I was touched. Here it is, though the breaks aren't appearing as I would like them to:


Spring should not be a / Season of sorrow
Yet it is September / Spring in the south
And I am sad for / Steve Irwin is slain
Chance-hit to the heart / By a poisoned barb
Never more to say / Crikey! look at that croc
An elemental force / Stopped too suddenly
It seems strange to / Mourn one man
When thousands die / Unknown and unknowing
But he was larger than life / Bolder than brave
No more will he come / Home from the hunt
Garth Nix, 5th September 2006

You may wish to read Mr. Nix's thoughts on the incident in their entirety as well.
Crikey.