In Which MsInformation Rocks Another Year

Pull out the stopper; let the glasses clink

(Some gin and dry vermouth, and olives, too)

Champagne and dry martinis are, I think

The best way we can fete we-all-know-who.

MsInfoMugavero, darling, cheers,

On this, your birthday, gorgeous bottle of

Pure vixensauce. So much sass o'er the years

Can be met on this day with naught but love.

Dear Donna, wish I could be there tonight

But I am sure I'll feel the party vibes

From here. The world is a much cooler place

For your strutting across't it. All the tribes:

Podcasters, skeptics, music nerds and we

Who are a bit of each share in your glee.

In Which I Try, Just Try, To Make It Easier, But Probably Don't

A life can change so quickly, in one's sleep.

Someone we've always counted on can go

Away without a warning, leaving deep

And lasting wounds that may not always show

Once they're not fresh. As my dear Donna told

Us all today, take time to hug someone

You love or at least tell them. New or old,

A friend, a spouse, a lover, or a fun

Playfellow can be taken. Oh, dear Tee,

And Sonic Boom, sweet, too, you're in my thoughts,

As little as that really proves to be.

All I can do is send my love -- and lots.

And hope that you and yours find strength and wish

That we all could do more than simply this.

In Which I Channel Billy Pilgrim

I do not feel that I am really here.
A flash occurs, and I am lost in space
Or time. So vividly another year
Dwells in my brain I'm not sure in what place
I'd find myself if I could know for sure.
In Boston I once lived and worked and walked,
And in the next-door universe I stayed.
Last night, in dreams, in Bethlehem I talked
With Donna; all this morning I have strayed
Back to that town where I have never been,
Then home to houses that I never bought
But looked at while I chose the one I'm in.
It's not that I'm unhappy where I am
But somehow all this day has seemed a sham.