An Online Literary Journal for Poetry and Flash

Tag: birthdays

A Birthday Meteor

Poetry by Jeff Burt

When the last bird-wing rose
and the bottom of the open window
became a bed for a creek of cold air
to enter the room, I saw a streak
of acetylene on the western edge of darkness
and found between my sixteenth-century Shakespeare
and my twenty-first century Einstein
a tussle between the optimistic flush of good omen
and scientific swagger that pronounces
a romantic stone a rock,
and I looked over your shoulder,
felt both lucky and fated to be with you,
and eyes lifted, wandered in the early stars
brushing against galactic wonder.


Jeff Burt lives in Santa Cruz County, California, with his wife, alternating between dreams of fire evacuation and dreams of floods. He has contributed to Gold Man Review, Rabid Oak, Williwaw Journal, and others. Read earlier work from The Bluebird Word’s March 2022 Issue.

Birthday Presence

Special Selection for the 2022/2023 Winter Holiday Issue

Poetry by Mary Kate Bunstine

There is that one day a year that is a little extra special.
It’s the day where a song is played to usher in a brand new start;
Where decorations are hung and heart balloons held.
It’s the day where I am celebrated by family and friends alike.

I blow out burning candles on a cake.
It’s the day where I make a wish or two;
Where all eyes are on me as I do.
It’s the day that is full of surprise.

It flies by.
It’s the day where proud tears trickle from my mother’s eyes;
Where she sees how far her child has come.
It’s the day I wish I could hold onto and never let go.

But when another year arrives and that day returns,
I learn that perhaps it isn’t about how fast it fades.
Nor is it about the amount of presents unwrapped.
It’s about having gratitude each time I get to blow out candles yet again.


Mary Kate Bunstine is an undergraduate student and English major. She enjoys writing pieces of poetry that focus on positivity and living in the present.

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