I don’t know all the right things to say.
In fact, I don’t even know the wrong
Things.
“Happy birthday!”
If I knew a way
To say it smooth, would you believe that I
Had found it out with good intent? Or am
I just a creep who made a note of it
Three weeks ago?
“It’s just a thing that ev-
-eryone remembers.”
“Mine’s next week, so ob-
-viously I would jot it down.”
And then
There’s the issue of giving you a gift.
We’re probably too distant for a present,
And definitely so for poetry.
These little conversations couldn’t mean
so much to you. But for me, they make
An inappropriately placed forest
Of pink and yellow trees. It’s filled with bird-
song, and creeks of rushing chocolate.
…
Anyway.
To celebrate your birthday,
I just want to let you know how much
Our passing chats have meant to me.
But like,
I don’t want you to think they’re quite as mean-
-ingful as they really are. You’ll still ask how
I knew; I’ll answer on the spot. You’ll still
Be caught off-guard; I’ll treat it like a test.
“Hey! Oh, happy birthday!” Yeah. I’ll say
It just like that.
Jeff Maginity is a senior from Addison, IL studying Learning & Organizational Change. He fills his free time with board games, game development, and writing poetry and song lyrics.
