gabriel, clear the line

a birthday poem about love, narcissism, and silk slippers

gabriel, clear the line

tomorrow is my birthday
and i don't know if I've done enough
33 years is a long time
to not know what you're doing

33 years of living is better
than one year of dying, i assume
having only experienced one
it's not fair to compare

comparison is the thief of joy
or so they say
but here i am doing the thing
because what do they know anyway?

alexander the great was king at 20
conquered the persians, donned silk slippers
and died in the palace
of nebuchadnezzar by 32

jefferson declared independence
from the world's biggest empire
at the same odd age
i'm about to be

napoleon was 26 when
he married josephine
but i was three years younger
when i married mine

so at least i've got him beat
by a few years
and a few inches
but the longer shadow doesn't belong to me

jesus christ was busy
saving mankind and all
and being nailed to the cross
at my age - or so they say

abraham lived three quarters
of a century
before he made it out
of his father's tent

75 before he fathered a nation
so maybe i've got time
maybe my mail is on the way
gabriel, clear the line

fear of mortality might be
the only reason any of us
get out of bed in the morning
trapped by biology

maybe church is just
for narcissists and gluttons
who want their cake
and eternal salvation too

who will write my name
who will remember my verse
save for the blinking light
of the record button

maybe we ask for too much
maybe my life isn't enough
to scratch the surface
of which i've scarcely laid a hand

but you scribbled in my notebook
and kissed me on the cheek
in between pages
of dr. seuss

you sing my songs i haven't finished
and dance with me in the living room
you look just like your mama
down in the easy chair

maybe i'll get another 33
and god'll go easy on me
for all the jokes i've made
and my line of questioning

because you love me
not for the mountains i've climbed
or the lands i've conquered
or my forthcoming opus

because i've never deserved anything
the way i don't deserve you
and your other half
brings that number to two

because you love me
because i love you
and if that and only that were true
33 would be enough