Hair adorned
with rainbow glee
good tidings brought
to noble thee

Bones are weary
thoughts are cloudy
heart is heavy
sighs are breathy

But on this day
the snow is thick
the days are long
with brightening sun

And your radiance gleams
like dragon's treasure
tucked away in secrecy
your beauty and its measure

For love you have
to share in oodles
soft as silk and satin
warm, like labradoodles

You give of yourself
and want for nothing
so here it comes
a day of wonder

For today you were born
and continue to live
continue to fight
continue to give

So receive instead
these joyous words
to thank you for you
for being a friend

Though life is heavy
and the snow layers thick
your smile lights the world
and in our minds, stick

Yes, here I am
In my 1955 model body
Sipping hot toddy
But on the inside nothing has changed
It’s all on the outside.

And there I go
Like the old man in a song
Shuffling along
Inside, nothing has changed
But, oh, the outside.

The years have passed
One on one
69 have gone
In the blink of an eye
But the changes you see, tell a lie.

SE      May 24

She had of the prettiest smiles I’ve ever seen
It felt like a reflection of all things bright
As if the world had no darkness, only light
I never seen anything so serene

I was late to lunch today
She had already taken a seat in a corner booth
By the look on her face, she couldn’t hide the truth
Yet she didn’t know what words to say

Her eyes glisten when she talked
It seemed the nervous feelings were gone
And so, the feelings continue to feed on
With feelings of love now locked

I remember a time like that, to be brave
She reminded me of you and your glow
He reminded me of myself, before you had to go
For I wish there was more than flowers on a grave

In a mirror, we always look older
and we believe that it lies.
We blame it for every wrinkle:
Okay then, you lie, but why?!

How rude of mirror to do so,
like literally in the face!?
We give it so much attention
and what in return? Disgrace!

Or perhaps we do look older
indeed, and it doesn't lie.
Perhaps we lie to ourselves
and maybe we know well why.

In quiet nights my grandma cries
We talk of death and people’s eyes
We miss our words, she sees a vein
I ask her, but she’s not in pain

I want nothing more than to be left alone.

yet there's this child
Clinging to every
Step I take,
Reminding me of
All the spears
Our mother
Chucked at our eyelids.

I want nothing more than to be left alone.

yet there's a little rebel
Churning the bile
Inside my guts,
Screaming at me
About all the sharp edges
Of the road we walk on.

I want nothing more than to be left alone.

yet there's all this responsibility
Weighing me down,
And dragging me
Towards the edges
Of this broken glass path.

I want nothing more than to be left alone.

yet theres an old man
Whispering from the haze.
He tells me to turn back
From this destiny we share.

All that he wants is nothing more than for me to leave him alone.

I'm full of long complexity
in this shell of masculinity
You see a pale reflection
of the inner deeper me

I'm not a likely poster child
but believe you-me it's true
I span across the gamut
between them, us, me and you

Don't judge this balding grayness
by the pallid, saggy skin
Start an honest conversation
- find the truer child within