Tomorrow is your
birthday. You would have been not
old — sixty-seven —-
but who’s counting now.
The point is you came to be.
Beauty and Justice
became your causes.
Alabama, the Fifties,
Amurika you
never made peace with.
You scorned Metaphysics but
Beauty and Justice
will burn brightly a-
amongst the candles on your
cake and won’t blow out.
Author: Tom D'Evelyn
Tom D'Evelyn is a private editor and writing tutor in Cranston RI and, thanks to the web, across the US and in the UK. He can be reached at tom.develyn@comcast.net. D'Evelyn has a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley. Before retiring he held positions at The Christian Science Monitor, Harvard University Press, Boston University and Brown University. He ran a literary agency for ten years, publishing books by Leonard Nathan and Arthur Quinn, among others. Before moving to Portland OR he was managing editor at Single Island Press, Portsmouth NH. He blogs at http://tdevelyn.com and other sites.
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Metaxyturn Diaries 
Bravo Tom!
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I was thinking of her this morning, Tom, as I often do. I used to feel challenged by getting the right birthday card for her – to equal her wit, passions, appreciation for irony and beauty. Anything I say feels inadequate but I’ll add that she was one hell of a woman whom I admired and loved. My heart continues to break. I’ve been appreciating your poems so much. Love to you and Ceci.
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