Thread: Birthday Cards

Disclaimer:

Potentially adult themed... nothing too heinous. Just that Hallmark probably wouldn't run it.

So I've been having fun being broke, of late, and most birthdays that come up I have $0 to spend. So I make a card and write a poem.

The last two poems I wrote, I really liked. So I thought I'd share them with you guys.


This one was for an old housemate of mine:

***

When Trent bends he transcends any word I could rhyme
Hosting Arthur street parties that could warp space and time
He conducts, cones he sucks, drinking vodka or red
Sleeping out on the couch just as often as bed

Hair he grows, he likes clothes, and his sneakers real bright
I’m so glad that he threw out those trackies, once white
Likes a smoke and a drank, the occasional skank
Once he TP-ed my room, a ridiculous prank

That’s the old days, he’s growing, it’s showing, I know
Renovations and new job, and washing his clothes
I barely know thee, friend Trendy. What happened to ye?
Oh that’s right, it’s your birthday, and so, (bear with me)

Happy Birthday to you, You live in the zoo
Something lame about monkeys, or lions, or poo
But really today, all I wanted to say was, be you
and do everything I wouldn’t do

***

And this one was for my Nan:

***

You’re circle bread, toadstools and fairies,
You’re jelly and ice cream with cream,
You’re presents and fun birthday parties,
I’m sensing a bit of a theme.

You’re baking a cake in the kitchen,
You’re salting your food till it’s white,
We’re watching A Wheel of Fortune,
We’re sharing your bed in the night.

Whenever I think of my childhood,
I think of you always, it’s true,
So I wanted to say, on this special day,
A Happy Birthday to you.

***

I love them! What a great idea to personalize a card. You did good, even if Hallmark isn't trying to grab these.

i would be so thilled if someone wrote a poem for me for my birtthday. These poems should be so special to them. They show how well you know them, how you observe them, how much attention you've paid. How much you love them. Well done.

These are so sweet. The first one made me chuckle out loud, drawing stares from the rest of my class, lol.

I think taking the time to actually think and write out a poem shows much more than just a simple Hallmark card. (Some of them can be pretty lame)

I love them, too! What a lovely personal way to go, Like a Fox, and the poems are nicely done. Bravo!

Gumby, apple, Kang and Chester - Thanks for the nice words, you guys!
I totally thought I'd already thanked y'all. I'm hopeless.
It's my Dad's birthday tomorrow. Eeeesh. What do I write for him?!

Life would be so much easier if I had money to throw at meaningless gifts

Cool stuff. You make it look easy, writing witty ditties specifically for friends and family.

Ha, thanks Edge
I ended up writing one for Dad today, if anyone's interested. Might just pop it here for shiz'n'gigglez.

Later though. This computer is formatting it badly.

Heh. Clever stuff Kath. Hope you don't end up in my predicament. Every birthday, Valentine's Day etc, my wife says, "Hey -- where's my poem?"

Well, I gave Dad his last night, and Nanny was right onto it. "Have you written another poem?! Good!! Where's my coconut ice?" Haha.


Here's my Dad's one:


Once upon a bleak November, right before a bright December,
It was Saturday, Father’s birthday, the 13th to be exact.
While I pondered, really thinking, suddenly I had an inkling,
All this thinking, blinking, thinking, led me to a thought – abstract,
‘Tis a poem, I could write, that would be the finest act!’
So I went and did just that.

Ah, distinctly I remember, such a very bleak November,
Two days of warmth and suddenly the weather turned to grey.
I wondered what I had to say, wondered ‘bout it half the day,
Got a rhyme stuck in my head that simply wouldn’t go away.
Sorry, Edgar Allan Poe, it simply wouldn’t go away.
Apologies, I have to say.

Now onto more important things, birthday cheer and songs to sing,
Fond memories of Dad – I have bucket loads I could relay,
Of that time he played Love Stinks, made a punch no one could drink,
Of Kendo noises, toffee hammers, record players, no clichés,
Disneyland and trips to England, salmon sandwiches on Sundays,
All these things I could relay.

As I wrote, the poem grew longer, my sense of rhythm getting stronger
And now to choose a rhyme to complement the final lines,
I wished my Dad a birthday, happy, despite the weather, oh so crappy,
A day that’s full of family, feast, gifts and good times,
And a poem from a daughter, filled with love between the lines,
Yes, I rhymed ‘lines’ with ‘lines’.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

I think personalized cards are a great idea. These both would have brought smiles to my face had I received them, and of course if I were those people. I think writing personal notes of any type to people you know is a great way to communicate, whatever the occasion. Keep making them smile.

BW

Bet Dad was smiling from ear to ear.

Hey BWOz, thanks for the read! I imagine I will continue this tradition.
I can't forsee a time when I will have any money, and now, as Joe says, that may be the expectation.


Gumby - Haha, maybe, but just quietly. We don't like big emotional gestures in my family.
I ignore all that, of course, much to the detriment of my relatives and their squeamishness. They just blush through it.

Just a great idea which I will be following! I think these cards surely mean more that any gift wrapped item...
Very well done! Laurie

Thanks, Laurie

I'm surprised you all don't already do this. I feel some kinda pressure when everyone knows I'm "a writer" to do something writerly.