a very happy unbirthday to me

azure tongues of fire

quiver in rum-and-tea-tainted

breaths heaved between

slurred verses of unbirthday tunes,

drops of emerald wax spotting

buttercream icing like grass-stains

on young, clumsy knees

the dull ache behind my eyes

is fed by the sharp clinks

of teacups on saucers and

drunken guffaws, so grating

i’d much rather be serenaded

by the Red Queen herself

i allow my ebony topper

to drift past my brow, sparing

my eyes from further agony,

as i escape to manic

(and much-preferred)

fantasies of my mad mind’s crafting

the warbling slows to a whisper,

the stamping of feet is silenced,

and my lips can’t help but

one meager smile at

the glorious tranquility

of insanity