HIDDEN BIRTHDAY MAGIC

Waiting for Publication Results

We aren’t ten anymore. The world lost
its warmth like a thief stealing energy
from the earth’s heated core.

Rainy days no longer mean puddle
jumping and pink waterproof boots.
They mean sadness, as if Eeyore and
Winnie the Pooh are in cahoots.

Birthday parties feel like we are inching
closer to the dead instead of wreaking
havoc and licking mom’s frosting spread.

The magic is harder to find. It’s as if
we’re searching deep within the caverns
of a cold salt mine. The headlamp
flickers, slowly losing its will to shine
a bright path. Just like we lost
all of our strength to find hope in this life
worth a foreboding laugh.

Maybe that’s the beauty of growing older.
Like a mother holding her newborn
daughter, she can relive the magic as
her arms wrap tightly around her.

Maybe magic that is harder to find is
invaluable because the harder we
search for it, the more we know its
beauty is undeniable.

And maybe we hold magic closer
to our hearts because we know the
adult world tries to tear it apart.