Written Feb 2000 |
Fifty-Two Candles Today, I am going to buy you a cake, A birthday cake, And on it I will write Happy Birthday With green frosting Because that is the color of your eyes. It will remind me of the time I tried to bleach my eyes green By staring into the sun- I will tell you I did that because I wanted to have your eyes, I wanted to be like you. And I will laugh because my eyes Aren’t any greener than before. I will tell you That’s why I wear glasses now, And, you see, I will say as I am laughing out loud, I am like you, You wear glasses, too. And then I will buy candles, Fifty-two candles, Because that’s how old you will be And I’ll put them all on the cake. I’ll get into the closet And take out a little box. Then we, Both sitting there in silence, Can reflect upon our lives, And I, perhaps, will reflect upon your life And how it has affected me. As I light all of the candles and sing to you The Happy Birthday song, I will sing to you softly- Softly, the way you might have sung to me When I was a child. And I will cry Because there you will be, Sitting next to me in that little box, Full of ashes, Full of you, Because you didn’t know How to forgive yourself. I will cry For all of the sadness I feel And learn to forgive myself Because I don’t know you And never will. |