Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Happy Birthday, Bob

Robert F. Pych

FOR MY HUSBAND ON HIS BIRTHDAY

For Robert Pych

You’ll be 89 tomorrow, my darling—

a true milestone

There’s so much to celebrate—

reasonably good health, great family

a few wonderful friends

a comfortable life

but most of all

truly, truly, most of all

this is the perfect time to celebrate

enduring love, in these, our golden years

for we live a gentle life

with lots of I love yous

and spontaneous embraces

that generate smiles throughout the day

We take care of one another

and worry about each other

each, in our own unique ways—

You’ve endured plenty of poetry readings

I’ve been known to flip

through magazines at the racetrack

We often gather at the Scrabble board

and squabble about those two-letter words

or by the TV, where we really try

to find something mutually agreeable to watch

Every evening we join hands in prayer

for all the people we love

and some we don’t even know

whose names are given to us by others

to add to our always lengthy list

Who would ever have thought

love would keep right on growing

and be so wonderfully alive

as hair gets greyer

wrinkles get deeper

memories get muddier

and backs get achier

but the truth is

at least in our case, my darling

it does

Happy birthday, Bob!

Maude Carolan Pych