For Ray's 100th Birthday Even So

for Ray Bradbury

you wanted so much to live forever (we wanted you to)

that of course living to be 100 would be should be

a piece of cake and you cakewalking through or

a bowl of magnificent ice cream butter pecan a lake

of pink lemonade and cooling shade and fresh spats

enough to hot dog it up even if it wasnt the fourth of July

it was when you got there to any bandstand

gazebo with trailing arbutus there

where is there asked the child stained with grass

everywhere said the blue sky

no one expected the dandelion ceiling to come down

before its time

but there you are vivid among the scuttled chandeliers

the remnant yes the remnant

you are 100 by our reckoning

blow out the candles Ray you know you want to

and make a million wishes on a star in thistledown

it's all around town you could be back

let the firefly swirl begin, the pies cool on the window sill

and you'll eat all your fill in a blueberry wind

our friend, old calliope tune we sure do miss you

we couldnt have planned it this way

that NASA would send up rockets to Mars

all summer long as if to commemorate you

that ladies and gents and kiddos too would have no other way than to

live indoors and read your stories some more

it's not been a bad birthday so far

a little unusual maybe melodramatic

but how could it be otherwise up in your attic

are you typing us into your stories still

can you see the sun from Mars and our housebound picnics

do you hear the whisper of the ghosts of leaves

who danced before you here

can you still see the zinnias

the branches touching each other almost

across the avenues

now voyager soon

in your freshly parceled green mornings

something new for your vu finder there

the earth swimming into blue

and healing 

the earth arrayed again

the Book people gathered

near the infinite rivers of time and language

and the books still live!

and oh, Beautiful Ohio,

Waukegan, all the summer lawns.

remember you.

mary angela douglas 31 july 2020