happy birthday
today I am 48 years old.
there was a time
not so long ago
when I didn't think
I would last 48 hours,
much less 48 years,
and didn't much care, either.
my friend Magda
came over today,
carrying flowers.
oh, flowers! I said.
Yes! flowers for
an old gentleman, she giggled.
this is our little running joke.
I say I'm old.
she says, no, you're not old.
I'm old (she's 32).
I say, no, you're young!
she says, no,
it's different for women!
then we just laugh
at ourselves for a little while.
so I cut the top part off an
empty plastic mineral water bottle,
she filled it with tap water,
put in the flowers and
set the arrangement on a
shelf in front of the window.
I'm looking at them now
as I write this.
I'm not sure what orange-sherbet
colored roses are supposed
to signify, but they mean a lot to me.
this is indeed a happy birthday.
it may not sound
like much to you,
but I've sure
had worse.
much worse.
