A CENTURY PLUS 9 #poetry by jay

A CENTURY PLUS 9


Today is your Birthday
you would be 109!  
A century plus 9 years
not shabby for an old man—

to recognize the history/ the ages/ the lines 
on faces like tiny cracks and fissures
along the banks of years that have slants
that wriggled sideways/ lines that mimic 
each other creating rhythms and music 
to celebrate today—you me tateh the sea
bubbling up to greet family lost at your
absence—

but the cost of remembering slays
the weight of it all. 

Wow! It’s been 5, 10, 15
plus one, since you're gone. 




© Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Pop & Zebra on Unsplash