July 17, 2025

wholesome giggles

planning secrets
for the sharing

buying surprise presents
in front of the recipient
without them even
knowing

why does the word “sly”
have so much of a bad vibe

can’t the connotation be
best friends
planning
for a joyful reveal?

November 27, 2024

birthday poems:

~~~

cotton candy coffee
for my birthday morning
and remembering the good things
that happened this year
[so next time i can only see
the terrible, i have something
to comfort me]

~~~

aging
in an age
where my own kin
are more likely to die
before this age
than i
simply because of the color of their skin
and their femininity called into question
and it aches in my whole
soul
to know
the hatred faced is meaningless
in the grand scheme of the universe
but the effects of suffering
very much
matter

in this day and age
where we have so much
what happened to humanity
that hoarding became more socially acceptable
than sharing
and giving

~~~

like a kid
on their birthday
here i am
on mine
trying
to follow the dopamine
and have a good time

but our puppy is sick
[though doing so much better!]
and there is so much pain and suffering
in the world
that’s about to get
a whole lot
worse

and i know if i
follow my own drive
and sense of self
i can do things
for me
while at the same time
following/providing
helping hands
for others

[all while battling the existential crisis
that is
turning 27 for a ninth time]

November 27, 2023

the Kip Day tradition
of exchanging gifts
instead of only one giver and one receiver
makes birthdays seem so much more bearable
and puts less pressure on the birthday person
to like everything they’re given

and the Kip Day tradition
to make it a whole week
extends the birthday joy long before and past
what could be a big let-down
of so much expectation on only one day

and the Kip Day tradition
of calling birthdays Kip Days
and calling the week of exchanges
Kip Day Week
makes me feel
even more grounded
even more happy
that i found my Kip
and my Kip found me
for our sillies are so much in tandem
and even when they are not, we still vibe
we still ride
we are still allied
just us against everything

January 2, 2023

happy birthday to this
scruffy
little
bundle of
joy
menacing
hassles
shedding
playfulness
whining
dozens of different barks
slightly uneven eyes
thumping tail
reverse mustache
ear fluff
too much intelligence for her own good
scratching and digging
and so much destruction
silliness
and sleepy belly time
love
healing
harmonizing
floopy ears
and genetically terrible knees

[and at only one year old
that’s just the tip of the
puppy iceberg]

Happy Birthday, Computer!!!

November 27, 2022

something in my heart
beats a little faster
a little stronger–
the birds outside
remind me
of springtime
full of possibilities
(but also of pressure)–
and i don’t have the right words
or awareness to convey
the emotions i’m feeling today
so let’s just say
birthdays
are always a mixed bag
i just want to see into it
before reaching in
(but that
is not
how
life
works)

May 26, 2022

a good trip
a quick one, but
a good trip.
a flight cancelled/stood-by/delayed
but arrived,
chill hangout time,
a birthday celebrated,
weeds pulled up,
min-golf putt-putted,
a bonfire burned,
many movies watched,
and resident foxes identified.

a good trip
a quick one, but
a very good trip.
a chill,
low-key,
relaxed,
un-pressured,
lazy summer day,
Tom Hanks movie-watching,
just spending time with each other
kind of a visit

and it sure seems
that was what
both of us
needed.