a toast to a happy happy birthday! 

seriously now, how do you
count days without daylight
measure water underwater
or lift dead bodies under piles of
dead things?

for when the universe entire
will have to rot altogether,
who will be sharp enough to know
the difference between an overriped banana
and a four-year-old human skull?

— “ashes to ashes”, mud to mud.
but since even floodwaters taste clear 
under a moonless night, a toast
to a happy happy birthday.
seriously? cheers.