From 16 To 61 (My Birthday Today) Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Born in the year 1961,
today I am 61 years of age;
what more could I ask for myself
when all the blessings I deserved I collected
and held them so tightly within my grasp;

and in the cusp of my hands I treasured happiness
with gratitude to God and to my own fate
for a destiny so well-written for me
that to love, to enjoy and to confront all my wants,
my necessities and comforts in its quantum
either accurately or perfectly as they kept flowing;

yet it was my own life-time on this earth
which I vividly valued
that as I walked every step of my life
from childhood to adulthood
from marriage to motherhood,
I ignored all what was hostile and hurting
and embraced what was serene and delightful
that I chose to sieve and pour upon me serenity
so to re-baptize myself with peace I deserved
to make my time on this earth precisely precious
as I belonged to nobility by origin.

And amidst all that clamor that energy dictates,
I always sought consistency in harmony;
I even traveled those tiring miles of life
which were exhausting and unavoidable
but I had to adhere to responsibility and duty
to enhance my life and make my future worthwhile;

so I did everything I had to do
with the rule of dedication before my vision
that once my time of denudation would arrive
and no more would I have vivacity in its full power:
perhaps before I could be weak or restless
perhaps before I could be unimaginative and useless,
I prepared and filled my soul with sincerity
that was so distinctive and silent
that no sand nor land could stop me
from my journey to eternity swiftly
as once the hour of farewell announces to me,
it is time to walk, I would be ready and not whimpering.

Even your own tears will sink in your own eyes
to know how well I lived and withered
without any thoughts of malevolence
or that jealousy from others where they tried in vain
to overtake me and capsize my innocence.

Yes, I was born to be content
as I was aristocratically humble
and I always remained content from birth
to this present stage of my life;
I am delighted that nothing could
ever devour my gentleness or greatness
or steal my patience away from me.

And as I will wander off on my voyage
beyond the oceans and horizon,
you will recollect of me from time to time
for all that I forecasted:
my voice of corrections and warnings
will always amaze you
for the occurrences and realizations
you will will confront and encounter;
my character and tolerance
will reflect and change your outlook of vengeance
and you will want to be patient and forgiving like me;

as when someone misunderstands
he or she is always frustrated out of their own failures;
even their attitude and morality will not change
as their avarice and desires will rule their mind-sets;
and as such maggots declined to repent or rectify
their nature and their errors,
I abandoned their way to re-possess
my own endowments of peace and exuberance.

And with all blessings that God placed upon me,
I always held courage tightly in my grip
and in the cusp of my hands I treasured it;
love from those who loved me
encouraged and promoting my years of life
and I dared to walk thro all ups and downs,
thro all the struggles and accomplishments
without falling down or staggering
as God's grace was always by my side.

And I constantly sought solace thro prayers
which I mumbled every time I felt alone and lost;
and that is how I side-lined the hours of grief
and gained my self-control and stability.

Yes, my adaptability to sorrow and anguish,
my acceptance to realities and hardships,
my bravery and courage were rudimentary gifts to me
but without those divine blessings from God
I would have never stood up my ground
that as I lived, I laughed, smiled, cried silently
until sweet sixteen -16 swiveled
and turned to sixty-one -61.