When you spend time with friends but once a year
And you’ve ostensibly converged to write,
Your first task is to take the time to hear
Each story; reconnect to reunite.

Collectively, we’ve lost, and we are grieving;
We’ve made mistakes, wrote things that made us proud,
Annoyed Goliaths, complex interweaving-
With one another’s lives we are endowed.

And so a gift exchange for birthdays past
Imbues each gift with how that author sees
A most beloved subject in her vast
Complexity and chooses what will please.

And whether it’s a notebook or a beer,
These thoughtful tributes shall be held most dear.