Birthdays After Seventy

Why count the years when

mirror after mirror does it well?

But what the hell? I do feel

younger than I think the number

is supposed to tell.

Another cup of coffee as I sit in bed

looking out and into trees,

the turning leaves of fall.

My autumn too,

as late and long

as it will be.

It’s good that we don’t know

how many autumns,

winters, springs

and summers we will have.

Just smile,
and drink the cup,

and be.

November 16, 2019, one of my many birthdays

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