BIRTHDAYS

What do you know about birthdays? A cake and warm wishes? Different gifts wrapped with cards? Or a lonely day that proves— That proves a year has sunk, And marks a new beginning— Maybe for something better, Or just a quiet Monday morning. After a rough weekend of fun, And bills paid worth a month, With friends who came just for fun— Or just a grey and cloudy day For a solar energy user— No sun, no sign of it near, Like the friends who promised to appear And celebrate your day of birth. So what have you learned about birthdays? Maybe it’s just the words that are true, But the speaker feels obliged to say them, As if not doing so would cost them. But for me, it’s a quiet day, A time to reflect and plan— For tomorrow might never come, And with each birthday, I near my grave.