Wednesday, May 10, 2017

THE ONLY BIRTHDAY PARTY




When I was a 
      little kid
there in that wonderful
      town of Clovis
full of fine people.
      on the 
east side of NM
       pert-near in Texas
it seemed like 
      there were birthday
parties galore

all the time

and they were good ones
    tho' nobody came
pulling barbecuers behind 
     their pickups
and there were none
      at bump-car places
like the Texas kids had
      with later pizzas
all costing five hundred bucks

but they were good little 
      parties, costing maybe two
bucks, with Koolade
      and cookies
at Joe Bert's and Mary Lou's
      and Audrey's  and 
Bobby Joe's and who can
      recall them all

and I got good at hitting 
      Collin's and Campbell's
milk bottles with clothes-pins
     dropped from above
and no good at pinning on
     the donkey's tail
blind-folded

Somehow, since my parents
     were trying to eke out
a living in those WWII times
     the years came and 
went and I never once
     had a birthday party

and I was secretly a little
      sad  and envious

But, MY TIME CAME!

It wasn't a big party
     and there were no milk
bottles anymore
      or clothes pins
(we have a dryer),,,,

My grown kids all came 
     from eight hundred-
fifty miles, just for 
      me
and a few others came
      and Bri played 
his guitar

Thus BE saw to it that 
     I had a birthday party
before it was too late

It was my eightieth 
     with one candle for
each eighty years
     and it was a grand
occasion

and I saved the candle.
************
Mil
9 May 17




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