Happy Birthday

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.