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Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Keep Your "Carpe Diem"

When you’re a kid,
birthdays seem like
they’re forever
faraway.

The calendar pages
turn at a glacial pace,
adulthood,
still a mirage.

Then,
somewhere in your 50s
without noticing,
the days begin sailing by,
like dead leaves in a river,
moving too quick
to appreciate
all their detail,

and when you
want to stop them
and really study
their delicate veins,
their cracked
and weathered skins,
they slip away from
fingers
that were once
nimble enough
to catch them.

So,
I don’t wait anymore
for my birthday
to celebrate,
I do it today.

You can keep your
“carpe diem”
with its implicit specter
of Death.

I prefer “Happy Birthday”
with all its
boundless potential,
optimism,
and cake.

[Written for Poets United, Birthday Prompt ]

12 comments:

  1. Wonderful images. I too have fingers "that were once
    nimble enough
    to catch [the days]" as they drift by too swiftly.
    Happy Birthday, everyday!

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  2. Awesome! I like your optimism, why wait?

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  3. Whole WEEKS fly by , and months, at the speed of sound. Very scary. As we type as fast as we can! I love the apt image of dead leaves in a river, zipping by.......

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  4. Oh yes - cake encapsulates the essence of celebration - and for many of us each day is an achievement and cause for celebration - so happy day to you!

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  5. I love it. That middle section, though I am not in my 50's yet, so hits home--with poetic flare. And though I've been off cake lately, I am going to have the most dastardly decadent chocolate piece of cake for my birthday this year...oh yeah, can't wait!

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  6. I think you are right. We have to celebrate each day & not wait for a yearly birthday to celebrate life!

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  7. Agreed! Especially the cake!!

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  8. "the days begin sailing by, / like dead leaves in a river, / moving too quick"...this is so true and beautiful...

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  9. Glad you remembered the cake on the last line!

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  10. Oh, I completely agree! Even my perceptions have changed a lot over the years... I also feel birthdays are normal day but on this day you need to return the favour to others by giving them treats(as you also ate on their treats :P) hahaha...
    That was a fantastic take, Mosk! Loved it!

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  11. There will always be cake!!!!!

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  12. Everyday is a birthday !

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