Your Birthday Yesterday

Written
1990

 Yesterday you kicked the clock hard,

      and sent it into hyper speed.

In that single day you gained a year on me.

Now if tomorrow you repeat the act,

       you will soon catch me.

Any decade gulf between us will be closed.

For you the reward  a decade of stress

        and wear could be gone with

       the flapping pages of the Calendar.

Consider the trying decade you would miss.

For example, you would not have to do

       children's  graduations, weddings,

      and grandchildren being born.

You could miss the retirement fame for work

       done when you were young

      and the titles and honors of respect

       from those who now do the work.

The drag of dedicated benches,

      planted trees and eulogies,

      before the fact

      are things you could escape.

Your lost decade is a time

      for saying goodbye to far too many

      and hello to all too few.

Money problems are forgotten

       because you will forget everything anyway.

Yes, a great decade to miss.

And our time gulf would be closed.

But wait,

       another idea before you kick the clock again.

Perhaps you could tell me how it works

       and I could do the kicking into rewind.

I just remembered the decade you

        are trying to lose  had the best of years.

      If I could but live them again with you

      it would be a delight.

Then the time gulf would be closed another way.

Now I have given you your chance

       and another year has passed.

You come to me with more shortness of breath,

      more wrinkles and varicose veins,

       splendid Rorschach blots

      from which I read a degree of

      your acceptance of my love.

Now you know that the package is

       not  a prize.

Your mind, soul and

      love for me have aged

      as the great wines.

I want you well aged and mellow.

Until Next year! 

Notes
Birthday poem written in jest, However, it was taken to heart and was tthe source of many discussions about aging. Do the old talk of much else?