My Birthday Present Poem by Jim Yerman

I have a special birthday…to me that's very clear
I mean what luck is it to have my birthday on the last day of the year!

And when Deborah asks me what I want tomorrow…how will we celebrate this day
I look at all I have…and know exactly what to say.

I have a family…and I have love
In life…two simply wonderful feats
I have a place to live
I have clothes to wear
I have enough to eat.

I have the oceans
I have the mountains
I have the rivers
I have the seas
I have sunrises and sunsets
I have the flowers and the trees.

I have my health
I can sing and dance
I can read and I can write
I have the birds that sing to me each morning
and the stars that shine at night.

I have friends
I have our morning walks
at this stage of my life I have no need for speed
Hey you might remember this year
I even found some weed!

I am one of the lucky ones
My lif has fit together easily
I have the life I always wanted
A life of poetry…

As I reflect on the eve of my birthday…once again I must concede
I do not want a gift this year…for I have everything I need.

So for my birthday, tomorrow, Deborah
as I celebrate all the gifts I've been bestowed…
I'll settle for a piece of cake
and could you make it al-a-mode.