Today was my birthday.
Not every year do I celebrate my day the same way.
Some years have seen no candles,
some — not even the cake.
Some years have seen everyone happy except me,
and in some, the happy one was only me .

This year, there was a cake —
no celebration,
no candles, no wish-making.
Just family,
and a cousin of mine trying to cut the cake.

Still, something changed.
I was now twenty-one —
with responsibilities
I never took seriously,
yet they seemed burdensome today.

And even now,
I keep contemplating my life,
and its meaning.