Why do we even
celebrate birthdays,
anyway?
We remember the date
of the day we were brought
into the world,
and somehow it has meaning to us.
We'll never even remember
what being born felt like.
Feelings we do remember, though—
our very first chapter book,
first best friend,
the day we scored the winning goal,
or aced a really difficult test,
all those dates are
completely forgotten to us
and we don't think twice about
when they happened.
We don't save a day
to celebrate those times.
Yet the day we first cried
and first tasted the air,
the very first time ever
that we weren't completely comfortable,
the moment we were introduced
to the world,
we remember that instant
down to the minute
and spend all year waiting
for that day to happen again
so we can celebrate it
another time
without really even knowing why.