A Happy Birthday

This evening, I sat by an open window
and read till the light was gone and the book
was no more than a part of the darkness.
I could easily have switched on a lamp,
but I wanted to ride this day down into night,
to sit alone and smooth the unreadable page
with the pale gray ghost of my hand.

Ted Kooser (born 1939)

A very happy birthday to my Grandma Hickman, who turned 92 today. She told me on the phone this evening that my nephew Matthew has trouble wrapping his head around the idea of anyone being that old. She's still in remarkably good health; walks with a cane and is currently suffering from sciatica, but is otherwise healthy.