her birthday

Her birthday.

She awoke before her husband, who was the early riser
she was 80 yrs. old it was her birthday and preparing
a great lunch of filet steak with baked potatoes and salat
A lot of food, her husband said, yes, she lied, I have made
food for several days, and can’t cook every day.
She carried the phone in her apron pocket, but it didn’t ring.
After a long delay, she decided it was time for luncheon
Lovely food; she had even opened up a bottle of wine.
No, she wasn’t hungry; her husband knew why and waited,
she cried.
No one had remembered her birthday; he knew why but
cleared the table, cleaned the dishes and packed the food
away for another day
He couldn’t tell her when one gets to be eighty, the living
relatives are so much younger, the distance between the
aged and the younger people is like a vast ocean of years
it is easy to forget.
When he was 84, no one rang, he didn’t expect any calls
but for him, being cynical about this matter, he didn’t care
 about this, but he felt deeply sorry for his wife.