A few weeks ago, I learned that a friend of mine died of cancer last September. Today would have been her 52nd birthday.

It’s strange
knowing you’re not around
to celebrate this time

We were born a day apart
but I always felt
we celebrated together
our places on this shared journey
our occasionally intersecting paths

Though it’s been years
since we last met
on this day
I always stopped to wonder
what you were doing

I imagined your smiling face
blowing out candles
surrounded by friends
just like that one time
at your house

Now I feel your absence
in a way I’ve not felt before
your presence as I once knew it
replaced by an emptiness
I can’t comprehend

But I remember
your smiling face
and I celebrate

(15 March 2015)