Wednesday, July 8, 2009

A Birthday Poem




Today I'm 29 again! I'll be spending the day outside.

Usually I like to take my kids to the pool or the lake, but today they have summer gym and then Walker has a scheduled chess demonstration from one of his teachers--the one who lives in Serbia--so we'll have to stick close to home. I might fill up a wading pool and read beside it in my back yard (despite the fact that our black cat Chester always ends up puncturing any inflatable parts when he presses down on one side so he can get a drink). The green and flowered wilderness of our yard is a lovely place to spend an afternoon with a book.

A Birthday Poem, by Ted Kooser

Just past dawn, the sun stands
with its heavy red head
in a black stanchion of trees,
waiting for someone to come
with his bucket
for the foamy white light,
and then a long day in the pasture.
I too spend my days grazing,
feasting on every green moment
till darkness calls,
and with the others
I walk away into the night,
swinging the little tin bell
of my name.

Yes, I think I'll be outside until the cows come home--they live diagonally across the street and over the hill. You can see them lying in the shade under the tree in the bottom photo.

11 comments:

Unfocused Me said...

Happy birthday!

FreshHell said...

A very happy birthday! And, really, it's okay to admit that you're 35 again.

Harriet said...

Happy Birthday! I lovely poem. Much nicer than the birthday poem we recite around here. I think you know that one too. It begins, "Happy birthday to you! You live in a zoo!"

Anna said...

Happy Birthday!!

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Florinda said...

Happy birthday to you!

Cschu said...

Dang! We forgot to get out Dr. Seuss's "Happy Birthday to You!" to read out loud. Hope you had a nice birthday, anyway!

Jeanne said...

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I had a good day, culminating with ice cream cake and a game of Rage.

Anonymous said...

Happy happy birthday! It's a good one -- it's also K's, and was my grandfather's, too.

Anonymous said...

And it is a nice poem -- I like the little tin bell part.

Ana S. said...

Happy belated birthday!

Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) said...

Happy very belated birthday :) It's nice to share it with you!