These two poems, the first by my daughter and the second by me, were written thirty years apart.

A Birthday Poem

What? Age 72 and still not through?

Must be tea-time for your soul.

The table’s set

The opposites dance

Sweet and bitter

Old and new

Warm wishes and fond memories

Swirl around you, ne’er to depart,

And I wish you a Happy Birthday

From the bottom of my heart.

                                                                                 HLL

~

Hinge Time

Age 42 and halfway through,

Hinge-time of the soul.

The door swings loose, the opposites dance.

Mother, daughter,

Age and youth,

Has been and not yet

Come together, then fall apart

Slipping beyond the tidy measure of reason

To the unstately beat of the heart.

                                                                                                JDG