Birth Day

from "Falling," 2014, by Vanessa Marsh

 Birth Day

I have been thinking about the student who taught me
in Korean culture when you are born you are one
already Before meeting the air what did you first
have to learn To get here takes work It’s not all
birthday parties and cotton candy although
bowl full of cherries isn’t completely inaccurate
Your hands will be stained and what is yielding
and soft is always accompanied by a hard edge
and often hidden in the center On the day you
were born a body spat you out and this was
no place for crepe paper or ponies Although
balloons are appropriate since they offer
another’s breath The opposite of heartbroken
is heartstrong which cannot happen without
bruising or splintering or smashing Every birthday
piñata is a metaphor for how to uncover sweetness

[Image above by Vanessa Marsh]