le poisson

Now you are six!

Now you are six! And I have but one wish -
that twenty years from now -
(when you’re no longer a girl,
when you’re out in the world) -
you might wistfully recall ,
what funny and silly and lavish and pretty spectacular things we did
to celebrate your birthday,
the day that you turned six.

Your mother made the cake; your father hung the streamers.
You ate your birthday breakfast on the plate with curly letters.
For lunch we went to Isaac’s, to eat a colored sandwich,
And wondered at the butterflies, speaking their butterfly language.
We watched the fish swim to and fro, to get one was your dream;
You ‘specially liked your twisty straw and straw-burry iced cream.

At home we blew and tied and clasped balloons ‘til we turned red;
‘til floor and ceiling, couch and chair, were carpeted with them.

For dinner we ate pizza, elbows tight around the table;
We talked and sighed and smiled and laughed as much as we were able.

And when we sang your blue eyes shown; your smile lit up the room.
Compared to you the candles seemed a secondary boon.

But more than cake and candles, more than strawberries and cream,
We hope that you remember just how much, to us, you mean:

For Adelin-ey, soft and sweet,
You're more than just our niece:
you're a golden-haired girl with the heart of a Pearl
And the soul of a heavenly queen.