Birthdays by Todd Matson

As a child

I loved birthdays,

eagerly anticipated each one.

 

As a teen

I was anxious to

count more candles,

16, 18, as if more was better.

 

In my twenties

I wished birthdays

could delay their arrival,

28, 29, as if less was more.

 

As I have

grown older,

I have grown to

appreciate birthdays

to the grim alternative.

 

As I grow

older still, I can

imagine there may

come a time when I will

be content to have them no more.

 

One day,

when time

is no more and

love is all there is and

now is all there will ever be.

About the Poet:

Todd Matson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in North Carolina, United States.  His poetry has been published in The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling; Soul-Lit: A Journal of Spiritual Poetry; The Clayjar Review, Agape Review and Mindfull Magazine, and his short stories have been published in Ariel Chart International Literary Journal; Faith, Hope and Fiction; Agape Review, Literary Yard, Vital Christianity, CafeLit and Children, Churches & Daddies.  He has also written lyrics for songs recorded by several contemporary Christian music artists, including Brent Lamb, Connie Scott and The Gaither Vocal Band.