Younger Men Have Birthdays Too

Older and older and older...
I love the way you age around me
holding me like a new-born in your arms,
teaching my lips to find you in the dark.

Older and older and older...
You grow around me as all your birthdays
celebrate the end and the beginning
and this flickering tenderness in between.


Final Call

I would like to be able to pronounce your name
and remember a list of your favourite foods,
your preferred colours and your allergies -
not the sneezey little ones like dust
but like peanuts - the serious ones.

I want you to live a long time
and I want you to understand
...