I catch sight of a few words
Their scales shimmering
Just beneath the surface
Before they dart away
To hide in reflections
Of trees and sky
So, where do I start ... or end?
I've always liked green and purple
Other colours seem to come and go
Like the mood I have to be in
To eat healthily.
There are a lot of things I can't do now
Mostly things I couldn't do well when I could do them
So that's no great loss,
And don't get me started on dreams,
Which leaves only one constant in my life
Something I couldn't change if I wanted to
Something I can only forget,
Something only a handful of people know about
And might remember,
Which makes it special anyway,
After all, I am only one day older
Than I was yesterday
Where is the harm in that?
So, happy birthday to me.

Before we learned how to read and write
And parables were our social media
Something else did happen.
Whatever you believe
He was still a person
With private moments
Of doubt and fear
Who knew he was in big trouble
That his time was short
He only had this time,
The present,
And every day was the same anyway
Waking up to criticism and derision
And plots to kick him out
Not from a club or a job
But to put him to death.
And if you had managed to drag yourself,
Bruised and bleeding,
Up the stony hill
To where he was staying,
Outside the village,
And told him that your sister was seriously ill and dying,
He would have touched your hand
Looked into your eyes
And said, 'Your faith has healed her.'

You are such a lazy slob
I'm always cleaning up after you
Why should I do all the hard work?
It's always me that has to make the first move
Why don't you sweep me off my feet for a change
Instead of moping around most of the day waiting for some action?
But when you think I'm not watching
I see you dancing in the sunlight.
It makes my eyes water,
Fake tears I know
But there is no denying the chemistry between us
And I can't help myself.
I'll be joining you soon enough
And we'll be together for ever.

There was a more confusing time
Shudder to think
When young ones played
With dolls and prams
And toy soldiers and trains
And all they had
Were roundabouts and swings
And colouring books
And comics and stamp collections
And skipping ropes
And footballs
And pen friends in Australia
And fresh air and the sky
And each other.
It was very easy to mistake
A 'he' for a 'she'
At age eight.

Yesterday came a day too late
I wasn't ready for that,
Tomorrow will be a day too early
I won't be ready for that either,
Better take it one minute at a time.
One thousand, four hundred and forty of them!

Some of us are grains of sand
And some of us are jellyfish
***** and shrimps
And some others are starfish
Anemones and snails
And still more of us are oysters
Worms and plastic bottles
And love is the sea
That washes over all of us.

My fate is sealed
And not with a kiss
Though I am thankful
To him for turning
A blind eye
A couple of times
But I can tell
He's a bit miffed now
That he didn't take
One of those chances
And he's got a contract
To fulfill
So he's asking everybody
I know
Where I like to go
And I am going this way
So if you could tell him
I went the other way
I'll owe you one
And if he does catch
Up with me
I'll say it's a case
Of mistaken identity
I'm not the person I used to be
I used to be courageous
And when I wasn't old
Enough to know better,
Laugh in his face.