Yesterday was my friend Judyth Hill’s birthday. Here is the poem she sent out to celebrate. I read it at the end of class today.
* * *
This year I am declaring my birthday:
Fall Madly in Love Day!
Sigh deeply! Remember how great this is? Go on a wild date!
Be instantly on a fabulous adventure! An exotic vacation!
Why not? It’s our day! It’s our life!
Stay Home & Get away! Spend the day in bed! In your garden!
Wear something gorgeous! Velvets! Silks! Topless!
Do what you wish! Sleep! Lollygag! Loaf! Lounge!
Feed Birds! Swim! Tango & tangle! Day dream!
Find yummy hot water & loll joyously about for hours!
Read all day, eating dark chocolate bonbons & moan in pleasure!
Walk into deep woods! Sing loud! Dance for the nuthatches!
See 3 movies & eat buttered popcorn! Procrastinate!
Make Prayers for Peace & and cuddle up close!
Go to Work & Be at Play! Make Amends!
Go where you’ve always wanted!
Macchu Pichu? Morocco? Your back porch? My room?
Mozambique? Denali? Chaco? Altai?
Have espresso & chocolat biscotti at the café just to the west of San Marcos…dunk and dream…
If your morning is booked,
try a gondola in moonlight, rich, old wine and so many kisses…
Aren’t the Cubs playing somewhere we could go?
A picnic at the Bosque at dawn, kergillion cranes wheeling overhead? Snowgeese & Merganzers…
Hot chocolate and green chile cheeseburgers after?
Sushi on a balcony overlooking your life,
in gratitude for every blessed second?
A chance to say I love you one more time?
And have it said back?
Say it again and again! Aren’t our hearts so full! Whew!
A luxurious nap with a thick blankie, Assam tea with cream?
More Kisses?
Hot bath, scented rose geranium, reading Neruda? Aloud!
Coltrane and Ella and Billie and Bob Dylan?
Snow in the high country, Waves rolling in on Cabo,
silver bracelets, satiny avocados, tart Margaritas?
You Are Invited! You are My Guest!
Come to my Party Today! Maybe Now!
Come as You Are! How else could you be?
Don’t worry if you are Late – Come as you were!
If you are Early – Come as you will be!
It’s all in my heart for us! Just be here! Or there! Now!
And know I Love you Best, let’s be thrillingly, heartbeating wild in love…with each other and this deliriously good world,
today & today & today & today.
breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.
and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields.
Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.
Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
Make soup.
Play music, memorize the words for thank you in three languages.
Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
as the outbreath of beauty or the gesture of fish.
Have a cup of tea and rejoice.
Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Celebrate today.
3 responses so far ↓
1 sharry // Feb 14, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Thanks so much for posting these great poems.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hugs,
Sharry, Sheila and Carolyn
2 Janet // Feb 16, 2008 at 11:22 am
Thank you for the poetry – in all its’ forms … Janet
3 Judyth // Mar 7, 2008 at 8:12 pm
O Rach! I am weeping! Thank you my beloved friendxxxxxxxxxxxxx, I love you so & this is the best present ever ever, yours in so much, Judyth
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