Forgotten Birthdays

The time was rich
Political vitality thundering
THS with over 3000 students
A pink two-bedroom stucco
The Beatles
Long-haired men

Then there were the two of you, born, it seemed,
in the same breath, bursting on their father’s
soul, coloring everything with new consequence.
There was the discovery of the expansiveness of love.
He saw your little essences and knew life was more.

What is life, after all?
You added to the minutes of the day.
Fresh hope flourished; build a bigger home.
You inspired the process of living consciously;
you had to be safe to dare and laugh.

Your existences have made
the crooked trajectory of your father’s
life richer even though your birthdays have come
and gone without attention, even with
his deep need of your well being.

You two are the masters of birthday
celebrations, of social involvement,
of ritual relevance, of bottled energy
for reaching out with the hands of your
children in yours as they matriculate.

Here’s to you Nicole and Casie,
well rooted to earth, mothers and wives
who love and nourish, whose years have
passed alertly, whose births are
sweetly deserved.

May all your birthdays be equal to your lives,