It Has Been A Long Lonely Quiet Birthday Poem by Shalom Freedman

It has been a long lonely quiet birthday
Only a very few remembered
And I did not choose to advertise-

I too thought I did not care
But I do
We want to be remembered and loved
Even if we try to hide this from ourselves-

I waited for one family call especially
And it has not come

From that other world
The one I come from longest and most deeply
There has been no connection today

Alone alone alone
Happy birthday said by oneself
Is not very happy at all.