Birthday Poem, 2009

For my birthday a friend calls
across time & space, tells me
there is a total eclipse tomorrow
as my day begins, but not here
somewhere else across the Earth.
A time for things to come together
she says, the imagery obvious.

It is also the New Moon, the start
of the Lunar New Year, for the Chinese
the year of the Ox: to harvest, to reap
what we have sown.

Tonight the Lark Tavern is filled
with poets & friends & the spirits
who have gone before us. We read,
sing, eat, drink, kiss, laugh, gossip.

It is January, the parking lot is icy
the sidewalks narrow with snowbanks
the Park is filled with snow, cold.
When we leave, the Burns statue wears a beret
& Spring is just that much closer.