Hills Snyder

wouldn’t you know
you’d untie a bow
on your birthday

every day
you do at least one thing
the same way

you came my way
floating on a cake
upon a wave

these candles glow
even though a tiny wind
blows through the keyhole

    this ship of wood
    sails as it should
    forever more

you’re so sincere
swinging from that chandelier
on your birthday

the Cabin Boy may beg
to sit on a powder keg
in the leeway

have or have not
the tumbler won’t turn
without a key

this souvenir
is only a veneer
that peels away

    an acrobat who ties
    a tightrope of lies
    between the mast

X marks the spot
and Davy Jones may rot
on your birthday

at the musket shot
he begs for his life
upon his knees

a buccaneer well born
you prance in pictures torn
from the past

with bandolier so bold
but these days of olde
can never last

    these merry dreams
    may glow and gleam
    in future eyes

you washed up like a bone
on this island all alone
on your birthday

it is not unkind
to have you on my mind
in my own way

wish I may wish I might
find a lucky star tonight
under a rock

the Captain has his key
but he looks upon one knee
through the lock

    this deadly night
    moonlit and bright
    across the stern

car lights so bright
they pin back the night
with a high beam

strange as it seems
this boulevard careens
with its own scheme

sirens may scream
through the mist
and insist on a replay

wouldn’t you know
you’d untie a bow
on your birthday

Birthday