Contributor Series 11: On Birthdays
High School Reunion
By Dean Olson
Graduates gather in summer heat
to share stories, look each other over,
gauge tread left, weigh wear and tear
You mean to say…
Have you seen… Didn’t you hear…
Do you remember…
we carry with us images from the mirror
smile all-the-while thinking
My God, do I look like that?!
potluck tables flow from hot dogs, chicken and corn
to macaroni and bean salads
to cookies and pie. The line is slow
less from length than age and confusion
What about my cholesterol… Was
that cooked in butter… Who made this…
Where is the mustard…
photos catch my brother’s ear hanging out
me as I clear seeds from a bridge
others slap yellow-jackets
or look in blank wonder at how the breeze
sifts light through maple’s riddle
the crowd thins as medics
treat an over-heated graduate,
as it thins each year
reminding us why we must
always come.