You told me about a dream of a future that never was

I laughed and danced but never forgot

I sought answers from the full moon, from the river, from God

And was taunted, shaken by a fiction and robbed, robbed of my vanity and almost my sanity

But I was shielded, shielded and protected

And I was rejected, rejected by a projected envy

But embraced, embraced by the fog

It was a fog of protection 

And the full moon, she carried me

She carries me still 

I never told a soul

Did I just break that promise?

I lost myself providing for another

I lost a friend and mourned a mother

I danced for him and drank to forget that summer

And then another

Another lie couched in concern

Uttered by a small and petty man with a gun

A small and petty man prone to melancholy and rage

A small and petty man unaware that I’m divinely protected 

I am divinely protected, spiritually and physically sound

Spiritually and physically dangerous to those that don’t understand I am not one to be disrespected 

It is of no concern to me, no

Because I am divinely protected, physically and spiritually sound 

I wear you around my neck and smile about a future that never was

I sing happy birthday to myself and chat with a friend and another and another

I remember my sisters and my brother

I welcome a new soul

My baby, a Taurean—stubborn and bold

I listen to a Song

And in that song you sang to me

I see an ending to cycles, I see the dirt path transformed into stone

A rose and the flicker of a candle

A baptismal prayer

A rebirth

Happy Birthday to Me