Uncelebrated
It used to be candles, laughter, and light,
A day that felt painted in colors so bright.
But somewhere between the songs and the cheers,
My joy got lost in the noise through the years.
I share my day with two others who shine,
Their names were always called before ever mine.
And though it’s my day too, it slipped through unseen,
Like I was the shadow in someone else’s scene.
I smiled, pretended, said “it’s okay,”
While pieces of me faded away.
Because how do you cheer for a day meant for you,
When the crowd only claps for the others they knew?
So now I let the candles stay cold,
No cake, no wishes, no stories retold.
Not out of anger, not out of spite—
Just peace in the quiet of my own night.
Because birthdays should bring a heart that feels whole,
Not remind me of places I lost control.
And maybe one year, when the hurt feels less,
I’ll find my joy again—no more, no less.
But for now…
I’ll blow out nothing.
And call it what it’s always felt like.
Forgotten.
Written: January 21, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Brian Strand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We waltz on the edge of a wildfire
where fiery flames and ashen relics,
yield to the rolling tide.
devotion serves as earth's eternal echo,
our roots reach staunchly,
the past, our thick, tattered tapestry.
Yet, in the furnace of blazing flames.
our spirits strengthened,
akin to sculpting shiny steel
the air fluffy words, a vow
of balmy breezes blissful brush,
so gentle.
untamed waves with whimsical,
whirling heart.
Our love emerges unshackled,
uncelebrated, yet won't wane.
Whispering of the magic of its waters,
Our love is akin to a melody,
flowing quietly but eternally.
You were diligent, honest, and keen
when you first joined our ranks.
Your efficiency was a quiet marvel,
your integrity is a sturdy backbone.
I, the head, was blind to your worth,
too caught up in flashier performances.
Your steady hand went unnoticed,
your silent triumphs uncelebrated.
Now the organisation falters,
burdened by flashy incompetence.
I look at you with newfound eyes,
finally seeing what I missed.
This time, it's I who am in dire need
of the qualities you embodied all along.
Oh, but your spirit is dimmed now,
worn down by years of neglect.
The spark in your eyes has faded,
And your once-eager steps now weary.
My belated recognition comes too late
to reignite your dampened fire.
You've learned to blend with the shadows,
no longer seeking approval or praise.
The efficient, honest you, I now crave,
but has retreated beyond my reach.
FATHER
Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels
friends with them all.
Miller, Busch, Ballantine, Schimidt
you held them close.
So busy with your “friends”
no time for baseball games,
fishing, hunting, talking. No
father-son adventures.
Only bond in smoke thickened
bars, playing at base of stool
while another was poured to
drown your sorrows.
Salesmen sweating and trembling
would come to the door, unsure
if anger, threats would greet them.
Only you and your “friends” knew.
Crumbs, soups, toast, hot dogs,
nothing nutritional. Wonder we
didn’t starve. Dirty rags worn
days at a time-kids can be cruel.
Was seven when I watched
Your back disappear for the
last time. Was fifteen when
died saving another boy.
Lonely, cold Christmases,
birthdays passed uncelebrated.
Thanks for your legacy.
You were a great father
I walked into the woods
To come out from the womb
A single ray of sun
Entered the darkest room I ever lived.
The lullaby of an unsung mother
Gives me rebirth
The uncelebrated birthdays
Gives me a new hope
At times the corpse bleeds
When there is no wound
IT never bleeds when there is any wound
The chained witch loves to be free
The lullabies kept her chained,forever
Always dumb,never deaf
The heroes in the past dies in an illusion
the unsung lullabies and the unheard weeps
never ended, till rebirth came true
I walked into the woods
To come out from the womb
A single ray of sun
Entered the darkest room I ever lived
vulnerable & helpless
weak & powerless
defenseless & exposed
open to attack
and i am..
flagarant & blatant
barefaced & overt
brazen & brash
audacious & outrageous
undisguised & unconcealed
transparent & immodest
indecorous & unabashed
unashamed & unblushing
unrepentant & unforgiving
and i am..
bold & brave
courageous & intrepid
valiant & valorous
gallant & plucky
heroic & daring
audacious & indomitable
doughty & unafraid
undaunted & unflinching
lionhearted
and i am..
unnamed & unidentified
anonymous & incognito
unspecified & unsourced
unknown & unsung
uncelebrated & uncredited
unacknowledged
but most of all i am..
finally free
free of captivity
free of interrogation
free of misery
and i am..
free of all the things
you put me through
and i am..
assured
the quickest path to heaven
was straight through hell
Pale stilly winter,
Unfazed, undaunted sea songs,
Uncelebrated-
Her freedom; nameless & green.
Olive ocean pearl,
Lost amongst th' coral throngs,
Undiscovered-
Her beauty; frozen & preen'd.
...
Her medley of winds,
Carry a fond salty tune.
...
Troubled soul,
Cast away yester cares,
Listen close,
To th' ocean air.
Heavy heart,
Let go morrow woes,
Gaze afar,
To th' ocean hues.
Wistful smile,
Sing along,
To th' ocean song.
...
Wooden guardians part reluctantly,
Their threats feeble against my entry.
The gloom adjusts itself in the warm light from outside.
Cold steam billows
Where incense rose and inspired.
Wooden benches,
Unseated,
Apprehend the emptiness.
Old blessings echo off the walls and fall on to cracked tiles.
All around the cracked altar swirl spirits
Invoked in need.
The long empty table,
Unconsecrated,
Uncelebrated,
Unblessed,
Stands mostly
Unused.
It was a very ordinary day
uncelebrated.
A nephrite sits on the flanks,
I gravitate between smile and tears.
What will happen,
had not happened earlier,
moon will walk away from the sun,
to sit in dark
unhealed and unsutured.
It was the day of son
of the soil,
beheading by a sword the language and speech.
How can you divide the sky,
the trees, the rivers ?
And the flock descends on the chairs
to watch the art of decapitation.
Satish Verma
It was a very ordinary day
uncelebrated.
A nephrite sits on the flanks,
I gravitate between smile and tears.
What will happen,
had not happened earlier,
moon will walk away from the sun,
to sit in dark
unhealed and unsutured.
It was the day of son
of the soil,
beheading by a sword the language and speech.
How can you divide the sky,
the trees, the rivers ?
And the flock descends on the chairs
to watch the art of decapitation.
Satish Verma
It was a very ordinary day
uncelebrated.
A nephrite sits on the flanks,
I gravitate between smile and tears.
What will happen,
had not happened earlier,
moon will walk away from the sun,
to sit in dark
unhealed and unsutured.
It was the day of son
of the soil,
beheading by a sword the language and speech.
How can you divide the sky,
the trees, the rivers ?
And the flock descends on the chairs
to watch the art of decapitation.
Satish Verma
He pledged not his love
N more happy she couldn have been
For love is more than jus pledges..
Love is a breath of the unseen!
Days many, too many, flitted past..
Unmarked, uncelebrated, an unspoken of affair..
She walked the tormentous streets of Silence
So wistful an air, so proud and yet so fair!
Then came time to an algid still
Twas time come, to wade away
Thru waters untame, untimid n cold,
N all when there was so much left to say!
PARTED LIES THIER PATHS...
Two souls, caught unawares in the aphrodian web
The aroma locked up deep, deep, within..
Yearning. Yearning , n yet too proud to let out the ebb!
She could have looked back,
n CHOSEN TO THWART A BECKONIN FATE
But she! She walked the tormentous streets of silence..
N in cruel withering dignity, did but wait.
He yearned no more , but a smile,wistful n meek
A smile drunk of cupid's unsurpassable foolhardiness
Differences forgotten, hearts rent asuder..
Moments when murder was loneliness!
Pain did her wistfulness rule,
The smile melted into the parting
As roads drew on, uphill, ahead..
Memories.. All mem'ries that defy Time's calling!
The bird chirped on a twig,
Nice little home bird,
That we find around us in numbers large,
Neat little bird,
That goes about its business wide and far,
Its puny body, thin legs and soft wings,
Have a simple running brain,
Catching the worm,
Dousing thirst,
And nesting at best,
When reproducing,
It probably does it to perpetuate,
Perhaps it also enjoys the act,
Or treats it like hunger,
Once multiplied it tends for younger,
Catching a worm or two or more,
Some of us have perhaps seen them giving flight lessons as well,
And when and how it dies an uncelebrated death,
Nobody knows,
Perhaps the young ones she tended,
Also do not mourn her or perhaps they do,
I am not so sure,
She now stopped chirping and took off,
As she soared high in the peak of its life,
On an intended flight,
Oaring air troughs far and wide,
I saw it against the backdrop of blue sky,
Though I could not fly,
But perhaps I could be as simple as her.
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