BIRTHDAY BIRDS

BIRTHDAY BIRDS

July 24, 2025

No big party.  
No cake you couldn’t eat.  
No crowd you’d have to warm up to.  

Just the wish  
to give you something  
you’ll never remember  
but still feel.  

We took you to the ocean.  

Birds, by the hundreds.  
Pa Pa said there’s usually much more.  
A moving sky.  
Like a story with no ending,  
just flying.  

You pointed.  
You made your happy squinting face.  
You kicked your legs  
from your leopard-print carrier.  
Maybe it felt like  
we called them here for you.  

Birds might not recognize birthdays,  
but they moved like they do.  

And for several hours,  
for your birthday,  
we gave you the sky.