Forty, he thought but he didn't believe
Loneliness had surpassed time in this awful predicament
Sitting cross legged awaiting his gift
A present from heaven should God smile kindly
Celebration and then gratification would follow
Making life easier for just one fleeting moment
Deeply resentful of those last twenty three years
Unable to call this day his own since youth had robbed him of self esteem
Setting out in a life filled by prospect
Resigned now to death in this gutter of discontent
Wishing for nothing other than that well known tune
Sung in harmony for the first time in many moons

Gloat, they all seemed to gloat as they passed him by
Unknowingly smug in their fine suits and ties
Jealously was a fundamental problem to an unrecognizable face
Seeking cake and perhaps another drink just to toast this occasion
Being left with nothing other than coppers for a cheap meal
Desperate in more ways than one for a shake of his worn hands

Noticing the date on the papers that would become his bed
Confirming that, yes, today was his day
Suddenly uplifted as those notes hit the bottom of his can
Smiling upwards towards that saint who just walked into an invisible future
Generosity allowing for a surprising street party
Joined only by a guest list of undesirables who had become so called friends

Picking up the pieces of his celebratory day in submission
Unwilling to admit that failure had come too easily
Feeling sorry for his lonely soul and broken heart
Knowing that forty should have been his swansong and not his obituary
Deciding quickly that there had to be someone who was less fortunate than he
Unable to find that someone as another lonely birthday ended in the same place it had begun.

© Alan Zoltie June 06