p1Becoming SeventyBy Joy HarjoWe arrived when the days grew legs of night. Chocolates were offered. We ate latkes for hours to celebrate...LoveClassic LoveReligionThe SpiritualLivingLife ChoicesParenthoodThe BodyThe MindMemory & NostalgiaTime & BrevityRelationshipsHome LifeBirthdaysMetersFree VerseTechniquesEpigraphGratitude + 12 more
p1Incidents of Travel in PoetryBy Frank LimaWe went to all those places where they restore sadness and joyand call it art. We were piloted by Auden...LivingActivitiesTravels & JourneysArts & SciencesPoetry & PoetsBirthdaysMetersFree VerseGratitude + 2 more
The Author Reflects on His 35th BirthdayBy Ishmael Reed35? I have been looking forward To you for many years now So much so that I feel you and I are old Friends...LivingGrowing OldArts & SciencesHumor & SatireBirthdaysMetersFree VerseHumor
How to Spend a BirthdayBy Lee HerrickLight a match. Watch the blue part flare like a shocked piñata from the beating into the sky, watch ...LoveDesire & PassionLivingBirthdaysGratitude
Heart’s NeedleBy W. D. Snodgrass1 Child of my winter, born When the new fallen soldiers froze In Asia’s steep ravines and fouled the...Social CommentariesWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsLivingDeathParenthoodThe MindMemory & NostalgiaTime & BrevityRelationshipsPetsArts & SciencesPhilosophyBirthBirthdaysStanza FormsMixedRhymed StanzaTechniquesConfessionalAnxiety & InsecurityBlameGrief + 16 more
p1TWELFTH BIRTHDAYBy Rachel HadasAs if because you lay (deeply embarrassing) inside my body, I could (inconceivable) follow your swift thoughts into their...LivingParenthoodTime & BrevityRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsArts & SciencesReading & BooksBirthdaysMetersBlank Verse + 3 more
Infant SorrowBy William BlakeMy mother groand! my father wept. Into the dangerous world I leapt: Helpless, naked, piping loud; Like...LivingInfancyRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsBirthBirthdaysStanza FormsCoupletRhymed StanzaTechniquesSimile + 4 more
Infant JoyBy William BlakeI have no name I am but two days old.— What shall I call thee? I happy am Joy is my name,— Sweet joy...LivingInfancyBirthBirthdaysTechniquesRefrainTypes/ModesDramatic MonologueClassicsTimeless Treasures + 3 more
p1Self-Portrait at 38By Jennifer TongeHair still Titian, but Botticelli's grip has loosened— not now Rubenesque, and probably never; Ingres...LivingGrowing OldMidlifeArts & SciencesPainting & SculptureBirthdaysTechniquesAllusion
Passing ThroughBy Stanley KunitzNobody in the widow’s household ever celebrated anniversaries. In the secrecy of my room I would not...LivingGrowing OldMarriage & CompanionshipArts & SciencesPhilosophyBirthdaysGratitude & Apologies
Stella's Birthday March 13, 1727By Jonathan SwiftThis day, whate'er the Fates decree, Shall still be kept with joy by me: This day then let us not be...LivingThe MindMemory & NostalgiaBirthdaysStanza FormsCoupletGratitude
On Stella's Birth-dayBy Jonathan Swift Stella this Day is thirty four, (We won't dispute a Year or more) However Stella, be not troubled, ...LivingComing of AgeThe MindDoubt & ContemplationMemory & NostalgiaArts & SciencesHumor & SatirePhilosophyBirthdaysStanza FormsCoupletHumorJoy & Contentment + 6 more
Birthday LightsBy Calef BrownLight bulbs on a birthday cake. What a difference that would make! Plug it in and make a wish, then ...LivingBirthdaysCultureHolidays
A BirthdayBy Christina RossettiMy heart is like a singing bird Whose nest is in a water'd shoot; My heart is like an apple-tree Whose...LoveClassic LoveDesire & PassionInfatuation & CrushesRomantic LoveLivingRelationshipsAnniversaryBirthdaysToasts & CelebrationsWeddingsValentine's DayStanza FormsRhymed StanzaTechniquesAnaphoraImagerySimileJoy & Contentment + 12 more
The Author to His Body on Their Fifteenth Birthday, 29 ii 80By Howard NemerovDear old equivocal and closest friend, Grand Vizier to a weak bewildered king, Now we approach The Ecclesiaste...LivingGrowing OldHealth & IllnessMarriage & CompanionshipSeparation & DivorceRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesBirthdaysMetersBlank Verse + 3 more
p1ListeningBy David IgnatowYou wept in your mother's arms and I knew that from then on I was to forget myself. Listening to your...LoveRealistic & ComplicatedRomantic LoveLivingParenthoodRelationshipsBirthBirthdays
To a ChildBy Sophie JewettThe leaves talked in the twilight, dear; Hearken the tale they told: How in some far-off place and year...LivingParenthoodRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsBirthBirthdaysMother's DayStanza FormsRhymed StanzaOptimism + 3 more
July 4, 1974By June JordanAt least it helps me to think about my son a Leo/born to us (Aries and Cancer) some sixteen years ago...LivingParenthoodBirthdaysIndependence Day
To My Father on His BirthdayBy Elizabeth Barrett BrowningAmidst the days of pleasant mirth,That throw their halo round our earth;Amidst the tender thoughts that...LivingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsBirthdaysFather's DayJoy & Contentment
For a Girl I Know about to Be a WomanBy Miller WilliamsBecause you’ll find how hard it can be to tell which part of your body sings, you never should dally...LivingComing of AgeParenthoodRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsBirthdaysGraduationStanza FormsRhymed Stanza + 2 more