Birthdays

Poem 517 – Another Year Won

/ BenDQ / Leave a comment

The summit of another year’s been won,
a further 365 days done and here,
I sit reflecting on the last of them.
A call from my parents who gave the gift of life.
At times I’m sure they must have wondered why!
A bottle of whiskey and toffees from my son.
He knows me well. I suspect they will be shared.
Facebook greetings from friends old and new
that spread across the growing years and places.
A simple click perhaps, but strangely moving.
A trio of pairs of socks embroidered with bikes
from friends who’ve shared the ups and downs of life.
Discovering cake and conversation can
cut across divides of difference between us.
And finally a ring. A ring to replace the ring
I snapped that I had worn for thirty years.
The ring isn’t really the gift, it’s just the paper
wrapping the second life that I’ve received.

It’s my birthday. It’s been a good one!
(16.05.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Waldemar on Unsplash

Poem 244 – Now I’m 52

/ BenDQ / Leave a comment

You know it’s your 52nd birthday
when you keep thinking it is Friday
when in fact it is Thursday.
Is my subconscious telling me
to simply skip over it?
Being an Englishman
I don’t know where to look
when people sing Happy Birthday,
how to configure my face,
or if I should join in.
You’d have thought I’d have
worked it out by now.
I celebrate by trimming nostril hairs
I never used to have and
stretching out stiff limbs.
Perhaps I’ll treat myself
to a proper coffee while I work.
As a child I received cards,
as an adult, thumbs up from Facebook.
Internet forums I once joined,
but have long since forgotten,
emerge from the mists of time
to offer congratulations.
Will I do the same one day?
A dusty poem popping up
in someone else’s Google search?
I do some sums.
Three score years and ten?
Just eighteen left;
that doesn’t sound so good.
Let’s change the parameters.
Doubling makes one hundred and four
and allows the same to come.
Possible? Perhaps.
And as every day’s a gift
and I’m a half-full glass guy
I’ll gratefully take every one.
Yes, happy birthday to me
and many more to come!

For some reason I’ve got it in my head that today’s Friday, when it’s Thursday, and more significantly (to me at least), my birthday…
(16.05.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Becky Fantham on Unsplash (you may need to change your window shape/size to see the picture properly…)