A brother turns 70: a Poem by Vin Maskell

A brother turns 70

No party
No picnic
No cards
No cake
No candles
No gifts

Just as when
he turned sixty
fifty
forty
thirty
twenty-one
and all the years
in-between
Count them
– and their days –
one by one

Five siblings
See the date
On the calendar
On their kitchen walls
Maybe a text
Or a call
to one or another
A word or two
A number
Not much more

Or maybe
Seemingly nothing at all
Bar silent thoughts
But we know
We five
– and the handful of our brother’s
lifelong friends –
What we carry
What we share.

Vin Maskell

A headshot of Vin Maskell
Website

Vin Maskell is from Australia and runs the fabulous site and music-lit concert series Stereo Stories.