My Step Great-Great Grandmother

Is turning 101 today.

That’s my favorite number

By the way

I wonder how it feels

To be that old

To experience the world

All fleeting and bold

I wonder how it was

Back in 1923

When racism was high

Filling the sky with screams

But she’s still alive

She’s prevailed

Not in a nursing home

Still alive and well

Her mind’s not the same

But her family is here

An...

Another year, another cake

They see me wish, my smile fake

I fear getting older

Glancing over my shoulder

Petrified of memories I’ll lose

They sing cheerfully, my ears hear the blues

So I scrapbook, write it all down

Never knowing to stop, look around

By fearing losing moments

I miss the rainbow, ignore the poets

They say life is short, so savour it

Haunted by forgetting, too absent to admit

I’m n...

todays my birthday but you knew that,

i waited by the phone but no call.

i waited by the door but no knock.

i blew out my candles and wished for you.

the presents weren’t enough to distract me from the absence of your own. i unwrapped each gift expecting to find something from you. i never did. my phone dings, i see the disappointment in my mothers eyes when it’s not you. you ruined my birthday a...

18

18

_what? _

How can that be

How can I be an adult so soon?

How am I supposed to be in charge of my life when I still feel like a child

A child not knowing what to do

Or what to say

How am I to be expected to get a job when I can hardly take care of myself?

When I still can’t make eye contact without panicking

This just

Doesn’t

Seem

Right

Because when I look in the mirror I can’t ...

Happy birthday!

I love you so much.

I hope you have a great day,

And a great year,

And a great life.

I’m so glad that whatever’s happened between us,

Whatever we’ve been through,

I get to celebrate with you today.

And I hope we get to celebrate together for many more birthdays.

But for now,

I’m happy with this one.

Happy birthday❤️...

I used to

Love presents,

Cake,

Parties,

Fun

I used to

Crave it all

Now at 17,

Presents have become

Too extra

Decorating has become

Too pretty

Too draining

Cake has become

Too sweet

But birthdays

Still have my heart

Because I celebrate knowing

The love

That I get

From you every day

Is worth life

This is to you

And to everyone else

Who has given me

A reason to celebrate

Today

Today wou...

Mourning tears

Black clothing

An open casket

It’s a funeral

They tend to bring

people together

or tear them apart

I’ve seen so many

family members

that don’t ever

make it here

unless there is a

wedding or a funeral

It’s a funeral

But also my birthday

I’m not complaining

I know I can celebrate

another day

It’s just sad

It’s a funeral...

She awaited the day

A special one it was

expecting the magic

To blow a candle

To age and feel life

Perhaps closer..

To the deathbed

Nevertheless, the hope

And the gratitude

Of being alive

To see the sky, the birds

To smell the fresh air

It was worth it

To move on

To remember

The past hurdles

It was not in vain

Gratitude filled her heart

Tomorrow was the day

The day to remember

A special 18th

...

happy birthday to me, i guess

i’ve never celebrated, it doesn’t fit my parents faith, and maybe that’s why it feels so odd to have it recognized

8 days ago i turned 17 and it was terrifying

to know i will never be 16 again

to know i have one year left as a child

to know soon i will have no choice but to make my position on religion clear to my parents, or else live a lie until the day i die

i ...

Warning: cursing

“Happy Birthday”

they sing as you awkwardly stare at your cake.

“Happy Birthday”

they text after not talking for a year.

“Happy Birthday”

they whisper to you at midnight when they really mean it.

We spend our days looking towards this one day

for better or for worse

we stare off into it’s sky

and see the clarity of sunsets and night skys.

we never saw those before...