There's so many kinds
Of birthday candles
The simple and short
Twisted and colorful ones
Numbering your years on your meticulously designed cake
The large and thick numbers
Highlighting your new age
And then there's the tall ones
To count down
As the years go by
With every passing year
The wax cascades further down
The candle begins to shrink
And shrink
The more it burns
They cave in on themselves
After being lit up
Again
And again
And again
A little model volcano
The wax representing rivers of lava
Flowing down the sides
Birthdays come and go
The candle light burns low
Blue and orange flames flickering and dancing
Casting shadows on my face
Make a wish
They say
Make a wish and blow out your candle
I wish
To leave
To be free from this town
To find friends
Who care
Who remember my birthday
Who don't ruin the party
By making it all about them
I wish
I wish
I wish
That one of these things
Can come true
Just one
And maybe that'll be enough
To make me happy
But birthday candles wishes don't come true
Or I'd be out of this town by now
YOU ARE READING
Leaving Behind the Endless Fields of Corn and Soybeans
PoetryEveryone has that one place in their heart. The two will always be connected, whether they love that place, or hate that place. My place? My town? I love it, I hate it. I've left it behind. This collection of poetry is about the place, the town, tha...
