I have known this grand old Lady since I was just a boy,

So please treat her with respect while she gives you so much joy.

The gorgeous Withlacoochee is rich in history,

If you spend much time on her, you'll learn her mystery.

From the very heart of Florida, high in the old Green Swamp,

is a massive source of water,that's where she starts her romp.

If you stand in her beginning and wonder where she'll go,

Why,she'll take you all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.

Now she has been real high and she has been real low,

but in her hundred and fifty miles she has a lot to show.

If these old cypress trees could talk, what an awesome tale they'd tell,

Of the many kinds of people she has served so very well.

Prehistroic man made a living on her banks,

and all the rest of us would like to tell her "thanks."

As we sail down this grand old Lady, it makes us all a kin,

to the Miccosukee,Seminole and all who here have been.

The trappers,hunters,loggers and swimmers in her springs.

From dugouts to steamboats and all that's in between,

She could fill the Okeechobee with all the boats she's seen.

Early in the morning when the mist begins to rise,

If you look real close you can almost see some eyes.

Deep back in the swamp,beyond the cypress knees,

Is a cougar or Osceola's ghost peering through the trees?

Oh we need her and we love her, but we're not here alone,

You see all these wild critters call this place their home.

We are just intruders as far as they're concerned,

And while we're playing in their backyard,we have a lot to learn.

There's deer wading in the creek,turtles sunning on a log,

Oh,look,Yonder goes a big wild hog.

A coon is fishing for his lunch while a fish fans out his bed,

A tick bird cleans a gator's mouth, while Osprey circle overhead.

To use her to their advantage,man has changed her so,

But to restore her and to preserve her is where we ought to go.

To protect this grand old Lady is really quite a chore,

But we'll step up to the task and keep on doing more.

We'll share with you now my friend,or even in the morning,

But with that gift you see,comes a subtle warning.

You can't help but love her,if you spend much time around her,

So when you leave her friend,leave her like you found her.

By Larry A Hartman

April 30, 1998