I was thinking about the birthdays of friends on Friday.

          Birthdays, Dreamed and Held

Today I am celebrating birthdays old and new,
Remembered and missed,
Remembered true and made up too,
Celebrated and passed through.
I think of Petre, ageless and clever,
a new friend held deep with past memories,
a new success,
a brother in the Spirit.
I remember a year on old Lincoln Street,
with a pack of Chuckles, and a
Pat on my rump, and
the hearty smile od Dad.
I recall the year before with a
mighty fire truck,
Overspent when the Chuckles seemed too small.
I recall November birthdays with gorgeous snow flurries–
feathered–
a November birthday plain and sunny.
I recall February birthdays with hearts and arrows,
Cupid’s present, cold weather blurred.
I remember September specials,
My sweet one celebrated,
and August rainstorms on
panicked picnic grills.
I remember Grandmother birthdays,
chocolate-packed and smile-filled,
I remember Grandfather birthdays,
story-filled and snaggle-toothed.
I am taken back to places lost,
and places held long after gone,
and places imagined before they exist.
I recall family gone,
grasp family never known,
and seize family new.
Today I welcome all to the fellowship.
We are born anew again.
Happy birthday all!

(c) Tom Bolton, Milwaukee downtown, 8 January 2015