I'm banished from the downstairs where my beloved is cooking me a birthday dinner, a surprise dish that smells excellent. I do not have my poetry books to hand, so today I don't bring down two from the shelf to explore & match; instead I avail myself of goodness from the Poetry Foundation website.
From Linda Pastan, "Counting Backwards":
And I must say, I do feel a bit like I'm at a starting line, like the pall of the last year is lifting (oh cross all your fingers!), and also, as our two seniors graduate and move on, full of all the possibilities that might come to pass in the next stage. Let's tackle childhood poverty head-on! Let's plant trees and spread love! Let's light our birthday cakes with light bulbs!
No, Calef's Grampa is right...you gotta have the flame and the breath for wishes to come true. (In fact, I've been working for a while on a theory that the invention of the electric light bulb was the beginning of the end for humanity. Nothing was ever meant to be that easy for us and it's finally catching up with us.)
So I'm lucky to be standing at the threshold of a new era for me and, I hope, for everyone--if we can make it to the end of this school year--and isn't poetry always a door to step through? Please add your links below, and let us make merry while we March!
P.S. Can you tell I'm a little drunk on the sunshine and 75* we've had here this week?
Happy birthday! Hope you have a fantastic celebration. Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteAlways good to have you here, LW!
DeleteHappy happy day Heidi. As you stand on that new threshold I'm glad you see sunshine. I love your choice of poems, too. Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it grand how there's always some new ones to discover?
DeleteHappy birthday, Heidi. Thanks for hosting. These are two great poems for birthdays
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jone--glad you like my finds!
DeleteHappy Birthday Heidi!!! "Counting Backwards" sounds like a grand idea to me, I don't know how I got to where I am either… Though I definitely still like real candles. Happy to join your B-day celebration–hope your sunshine continues, and thanks for hosting the roundup!
ReplyDeleteOne of the tiny benefits of teaching from home is that I can light real candles on the fake cake--it really makes it special for the kids!
DeleteHappy Birthday, Heidi! Linda Pastan is one of my very, very, very favorite poets. I love everything of hers I read. Thank you for sharing her poem. What a treat that you are surrounded by love and good cooking smells today. Thank you for hosting on your starting line. I'll run with you into this next year!
ReplyDeleteI feel like I need to explore more of Linda, too--and thanks for the companionship! Caveat: it's not a race. :)
DeleteCounting backwards sounds good to me. Happy Birthday -- enjoy your special celebration and thanks for hosting this week!
ReplyDeleteYes, let's celebrate the return to childhood we sometimes make towards the end...
DeleteHappy birthday, Heidi, and thanks for hosting! Poetry + homemade dinner = love!
ReplyDeleteMmm-hmmmm!
DeleteHappy birthday, Heidi! I love both these poems, but these lines especially resonated today:
ReplyDelete>>
It’s the physics
of acceleration I mind
<<
Enjoy your celebration!
And thanks so much for hosting today. My link won't go live for a few more hours--hope you don't mind that I shared it early. 💕🥂🎂
No problem, and yes-those are striking lines, aren't they. Thanks for the emojis!
DeleteSunshine for you would be like rain for me, I feel. (Though I may be even more excited!) Have an awesome day and year, Heidi! Candlewax and all! Thanks for hosting.🥳
ReplyDeleteHee--candlewax and all! Hope you and the herd get the rain you need.
DeleteHappy Birthday, warmth & a lovely dinner sound just right, Heidi. Best wishes for a great weekend ahead, too! I love the idea of a "starting line". We are awaiting a big snow & I can stay in & write & read, probably shovel, too. Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda--stay safe and cozy!
DeleteHappy, happy birthday. Having dinner cooked for you is perfect, as were the poems you shared. I like the idea of counting backwards after sixty. I hope you have real candles to blow out.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I taught PreK how to count "ten-one, ten-two, ten-three, ten-four, ten-five." Why not "60-minus-1, 60-2, 60-3"? Hm, I already confused myself! Thanks for the wishes, Janice!
DeleteRaising a glass of Lowcountry sunshine to you, Dear Heidi! Thanks for sharing your birthday (And two fine poems) with us. HAPPY HAPPY! And, thanks for hosting. Slaintѐ!
ReplyDelete*Clink!* Glad you enjoyed the poems, Robyn!
DeleteHip Hip Hooray Heidi! Happy Birthday. Hope it's a cracker of a celebration! Your birthday poems are a delight. Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a pleasure to host, Alan!
DeleteHappy birthday, Heidi! Thank you for hosting today and I hope you receive many gifts of poetry....
ReplyDelete-These offerings. Grandpa is right, there's no substitute for the candles and the mess and oh, the idea of counting backwards or starting over at one, mother and father waiting there at the starting line with a cake... utterly poignant. That image is lodged deep in my mind, now.
Yes, I saw my young mother and father so clearly, standing by their white VW bug, taking me home for the first time. Glad to have you, Fran!
DeleteI hope you had a wonderful birthday! Thank you for hosting and for the great poems today. And I hope your festivities continue into the weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ruth--yes, I'm very good at extending the festivities!
ReplyDeleteYay! So am I! I got some birthday gifts in the mail yesterday!
ReplyDeleteHappy Happy BirthDAY and weekend and as long as you can keep the celebration going! Thanks for hosting and for two fabulous birthday poems. I will forever have a picture of your Play Doh Zoom birthday cake in my mind when I think of birthday candles! Happy Spring, Happy March, Happy Sunshine! (See...your happiness rubbed off on me...or else the caffeine is kicking in...)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary Lee. That fake cake with the real candles has brought a lot of joy! Glad to share some happiness.
DeleteBoth poems are fun to read. As I approach the big 6-0, I know I will be contemplating the do over.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, my dear friend. I hope you drink in more sunshine!
Isn't it nice to think of doing-over with a bit more wisdom?
DeleteHappy Happy Birthday, Heidi!! May Dyslexia ever smile, and bring on the light bulbs! Appreciate you hosting, too. Go get drunk! xo
ReplyDeleteHa--I have realized this morning that it wasn't only sunshine...I chugged not one but two glasses of wine last night in rapid succession and 57 is feeling it this morning! Yeah, I can't wait for 98 to feel like 89 ;)
DeleteHappy birthday, Heidi! Love both of these birthday poems. Here's to many more as we walk into a new age.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay--glad you enjoyed. See you down the road!
DeleteHappy birthday, again, Heidi! What was your surprise meal?
ReplyDeleteWe almost learned how to sing happy birthday in ASL for mine because one of our dogs gets so crazy when we sing.
It was confit de canard--duck legs and asparagus! Yum. Does your dog get crazy at all singing, or just Happy Birthday? *hee*
DeleteWishing you the happiest of birthdays, Heidi! I hope you have a weekend of celebrations ahead. Thank you for inviting us to your poetry party! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christie--any excuse for a party (sometimes two or three)!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Heidi, and thanks so much for hosting. I cut it pretty close getting to the party, but I made it! I love the both birthday poems and am fascinated by your theory about electricity. I've always felt similarly about AC actually. I hope your weekend is full of all sorts of goodness.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Molly, and yes, you made it! Let's talk about AC sometime soon and compare theories...
DeleteHappy happy birthday, Heidi, and thanks for hosting! Looking forward to all the good things ahead!
ReplyDeleteI'm soooo good at looking forward! : )
DeleteHappy Birthday, Heidi. I hope your dinner was yummy. The weather is delightful and I am glad Mother Nature offered the sunshine and warmth for my moving days qnd your birthday party. I am sliding into PF at the latest hour because moving is a priority and clutter a huge issue. I will have my post up soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you made it, in all the ways you made it, Carol!
DeleteHappy birthday! I hope you had a wonderful birthday dinner and that you have a great year. Thanks for sharing the fun poems about counting birthdays and birthday lights. They are both really interesting and fun to think about. And thanks for hosting, too.
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure! Have fun in the snow, you Coloradans!
DeleteOh, thank you for that Linda Pastan poem, Heidi. Like an arrow to the heart. And I'm laughing at the Calef Brown poem as I sit here, snug in my living room with the gas fireplace going. Light bulbs on a cake wouldn't be the same, and I'd prefer a real fire (and a real Christmas tree, if you dig deep), but convenience sure is, well, convenient. I hope you had a fantastic birthday, and thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThat's the word to fear, Laura--convenience! (I love it too, along with "efficiency," but that's what's causing all the trouble, I believe. Poem version of the theory is on its way...
DeleteHappy Birthday, Heidi! Thank you for the gift of your delightful, poetry-filled post! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thank YOU for coming to the party!
DeleteI didn't get a Poetry Friday post pulled together last week, but happy birthday, Heidi, and here's to the next stage!
ReplyDelete