Now I am six and twenty

Now I am six and twenty
And the last ten years I see
From my five to five a plenty
Of much a revelry

And now the line is crossed
And I am all said a man
There is much that has been lost
And much to still be ran

For I am six and twenty 
The sun still roves as I
The light still gives aplenty
And the moon does shine an eye

In the morning I shall wake
And the yesterday is gone
But I will still remember
The years of youth and song

Now the era of the ripe
And the time of the beginning
Is over like the smoking pipe
And the pages ever printing

Will the paper colour with age
Will the cloth tear at the seams
Shall I rouge with aged sage
As I err from off my dreams

Today the dawn does come
As tomorrow as ever before
My years are said a sum
And the ones beyond a more
 
For I am six and twenty
And all I have is me
And all I have had is plenty
From all that I did see 

I promised myself that I would write a quick poem on the day of my birth, one day. The twenty-sixth seemed a poignant one, since it really is the day I leave behind any pretension of being a young man, I am now just a man. I was inspired by folk like Byron who wrote a few poems on the days of his birthdays. (Search On My Thrity-seventh Birthday by Byron.) 

Every year, I lose more and more the excitement I had towards my birthday, the excitement we all had as children. You all know what that feels like. I don't think it is because I rue the passing of the years and the regrets that weigh upon them, I think it is more a realisation that what is important is not just you, nor your day. The cynical view is that the birthday is a pantomime of self congratulation for something which is common to all, and therefore not special.

But, I think birthdays are important, in the same way that all ceremonies are, that mark our yearly calender. Like Christmas, birthdays give an opportunity for individuals to be reminded that they have love ones and are thought of. I suppose the reason folk secretly love birthdays is that they get a little appraisal. This is good. I personally do more and more dislike the attention, but this might be good for me. Haha, well I have posted here, so I am asking for attention I suppose. 

What I am saying is that perhaps birthdays are more important than we like to think they are. What is more special and brilliant than the birth of a child, and the child itself. We treat babes with such love, why not persist as the child ages ?

We do do this. My text here is not a pining for something, but a reminder. On my birthday, I choose this year to think of all the folk I said birthday to; to the folk I forgot to say birthday to; to the folk I don't need to say birthday to; to the folk I said birthday to and then forgot I said birthday to them and then said happy birthday to them again, after the fact. And to all those whose birthdays I will forget. X x

Haha! Aux Verres Citoyens !