April 27, 2020

Wood is the traditional gift for 5 year anniversaries.

Wood

I present recurring receipts of wood,

The third time today comes with a steep price.

Multipliers of five should be relished,

Mileposts denote harmony, symmetry,

That are easy to count on in our minds.

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'10 gave no chance to say goodbye to friends,

Ushered out, knife in back, absent weak chin,

I spent the day picking dandelions,

Never realizing the full effect

Would culminate in a full-blown train wreck.

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'15 somehow ended worse, the goodbyes said

To suffice the rip in the universe,

Upon seeing two bodies transversed,

Forever linked I will contemplate

The day I entered and the day they went.

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Now '20 leaves plenty of emptiness,

Hellos, goodbyes, sheltered paralysis.

I wish severance as re-occurrence

Not gifted experience for anyone

In quinquennial sense, mouthful it is.

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Wood ain't being so rewarding to me.

'17 it really tried to kill me.

As I come upon another birthday,

I guess I now know it is best to save

Wood for future cold January days.