My birthday bouquet, over
a week old and wilting
in a shapely vase
of glass half-filled
with scummy water glinting
in the sun.
Flowers raise their heads
in a last hurrah
of purple and pale yellow,
their brown-tinged leaves hanging
over the lip of the vase–
over like the birthday.
Kim M. Russell, 11th June 2025
Over at What’s Going On? Susan is hosting with a birthday prompt. Happy birthday, Susan!
She has given us examples of birthday poems by Linda Pastan and Mary Oliver to inspire us to write our own about milestone birthdays, the significance of birthdays, what we should or shouldn’t do, or what we’d truly like for presents.
I’ve taken an old poem about my birthday last August and reworked it.
writing in north norfolk 
We hear the foot steps of Time and feel that tinge of sadness. Birthday theme so well captured, Kim. “Flowers raise their heads / in a last hurrah / of purple and pale yellow,” Sigh.
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Thanks so much, Sumana.
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Still beautiful.💐 When was your birthday?!
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Thank you, Melissa. The next one is in August.
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What a beautiful bouquet it was……..I resonate with the flowers, though my hurrah is feeling pretty exhausted these days. Smiles.
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Thank you, Sherry!
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“wilting / in a shapely vase / of glass half-filled / with scummy water”
What a gem of a poem that mixes positive and negative slanting words so skillfully; wilting, shapely, scummy — and you go on throughout. Like life, I guess. Both birthday and bouquet end, but not the remembered beauty of heads raised in a last hurrah.
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“wilting / in a shapely vase / of glass half-filled / with scummy water”
What a gem of a poem that mixes positive and negative slanting words so skillfully; wilting, shapely, scummy — and you go on throughout. Like life, I guess. Both birthday and bouquet end, but not the remembered beauty of heads raised in a last hurrah.
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Thank you so much, Susan!
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I really like this reflection on your birthday, Kim. I have sometimes received flowers for my birthday as well and let them in their vase way past prime….hating to throw them away, wanting my birthday flowers to live on. But, of course, they wouldn’t…nor will anything in the end. Your ending was brilliant!
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Thank you very much, Mary.
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birthdays do seem to pass quickly although a last hurrah is always possible – Jae
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That is so true, Jae.
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Mmmm, yes. A bit like the last firework going up and then fizzling out. Still, I rather like following the cycle of life of flowers and I am not in a hurry to throw them out too soon. There is a certain grace in colours that are fading… (Nick from Intelliblog)
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Thank you Nick. I agree.
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You capture the passing of a moment, of time, brilliantly! I think this is among my favorites of yours, Kim. Wonderful stuff.
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Thank you very much, Jennifer!
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Nothing lasts forever, does it? Still, in the moment I bet they were beautiful.
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They were!
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Flowers always wilt too soon……
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They do. That’s why I prefer to look at them growing in soil. 😊
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