We have counted birthdays enough to know
Not to count on the remainder whatever that may be
Leaving us uncertain but without a doubt about each other
As we embrace today sharing our life together.
As the midsummer heat arrives and settles in to stay
The sunny days deliver memories of childhood to you
As the people in your life then join us for a moment
As I listen to you and imagine what it was like being there.
Soon we will revisit summers past going to our favorite places
Traveling in July to hike the Pacific Northwest coastline
Walking the Atlantic tidal flats of Cape Cod Bay in August
Doing a September bike ride through the Catskills wildflowers.
We have our everyday quiet pleasures relaxing and reading
Being mindful of the natural world changing around us
The ebb and flow of the days and years passing through
The twists and turns of this life that brought us together.
I think of those who are work weary longing for any respite
Not forgetting their life we knew so well some years ago
There but for fortune... and so many reasons why…
Would that everyone could enjoy the happiness we have now.
The suffering of so many that we see all around us
The cruelty of the consequences of capitalism
Etched in the faces of good people disrespected and in need
Weighs on our thoughts and on every one of us who cares.
I wish that we might live long enough to see socialism prevail
I wish that making life on earth better were the top priority
I hope that human ingenuity will be brought to bear in time
To save the world from the devastation wreaked by profit taking.
