Half-Birthday

Most celebrate a birthday.

In Disney’s Alice in Wonderland,
The characters sing,
“A very merry un-birthday to you,”
Which could be sung every other day of the year
Except one. The half-birthday.

When I was young, when asked, I would answer
Precisely my age. After all,
Twelve and a half is not the same as twelve.

And while I realize most women don’t wish to own
Their age past a certain point,
I prefer my thirties to my twenties,
And am pleased to distance myself, at least a bit,
Both from that painful youth and
From the assumption I am already in my forties.
That’s my husband, not me.

I am now thirty-five and a half.
I own that additional half year with joy.