A Birthday Poem For: Loretta

September 13,2018 Birthdays remind us of of what we try to forget every other day of the year, that Time burns through our lives, consuming the fuel of youth, vitality, Life itself. We would rather our friends and family celebrated the date among themselves, and left us in a peaceful space in we can both reflect on things passing and hold on to things eternal. Time is the enemy of Lyric Poets, destroying what we cherish, just because Time imposes limits, or enforces those limits with events like birthdays and anniversaries. We would make delight last forever, but it weakens to a whisper of passion. We would like a flower to bloom brightly, but it knows its season to shine and its season to droop. We wish our life could swell to biblical lengths, and remain fresh and wholesome. We rely on such beauty to fill our earthly days with glory, a glory not seen on Earth since we lost the Garden and have become acquainted with grief. But our faith in beauty persists, and we sense a lasting beauty visible to our inner sight and nourished by our inner strength. Your birthdays remind us our Souls, forever young and vital, burn a path of sweetness and light, as they return to an eternal Garden, purged of earthly limitations and raised to Glory: This is your faith, it is the story of your Hope, its theme is Love, and that Love is expressed in your daily prayer:"Lord, You nave blessed me with long life and all good things. It is sufficient: give the rest of Your blessings to my family and friends"