Published October 9, 2026
i.
all i remember is your birthday.
23, October—
you marked the day in your calendar with bright red ink
(you said red was your favorite color but you hardly ever wore it)
you had your friends’ special days in that folder
mine was a season behind yours,
but you never wrote it down.
ii.
the number of candles always changed—
well, why wouldn’t they?
they were gray, and striped, i think,
and you threw them away even with the frosting on their edges
(i always wondered why you never licked it off;
i guess you didn’t want to get your hoodie sleeves dirty)
I don’t remember
whether you sang along to that warbling “happy birthday” melody
the lyrics never changed, but your expression did;
when I asked you what you wished for,
did you never answer because you wanted the wish to come true,
or because you didn’t ask for anything in the first place?
iii.
i stayed up with you long after the dinner table had been cleared of gift wrappings
(you never ripped the presents open; you always handled them with love
i wish you’d done the same for me)
our legs were tangled beneath the bedcovers,
and you shrieked whenever my cold skin touched yours
you were always the warmest,
your shampoo-smelling curls sprawled across your side of the bed
we giggled the way all sisters did,
our breath smelling of chocolate;
(or was it vanilla?)
iv.
all I remember is your birthday
even though our mother doesn’t mark it on her calendar—
and can you blame her? we don’t even say your name
because remembering you means
remembering that 23, October once meant something to us too
v.
well, happy birthday, anyway.
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141,898 Literary Works • 676,051 Reviews
Hello,
A first-time reviewer here. I have been procrastinating on posting feedback because I often find myself lacking the skills and experience when it comes to reviewing poetry. So, I really hope I am starting off on the right note. Feel free to guide me
This is so heartbreaking. I find it rather ironic that the poem is centred around a birthday, because one would expect something celebratory just by looking at the title. But this work, on the other hand, feels deeply mournful.
It almost reads like an elegy, where you mourn the loss of someone, or perhaps something, that once meant the world to you, and now, in their absence, a day that was once significant has become just another day.
There is something especially painful about that transformation: when a date that once carried so much meaning is reduced to simply a reminder of what is no longer there.
Kudos to you! I would love to read more from you <3
Hey Juke!
Queenie here a rev today.... so close to my next star.
First of all , this poem is absolutely incredible! I loved it so much, even though I could not relate to it, mainly because I do not have a sister who's birthday I can celebrate! Anyway, back to work!
Praise:
I loved these parts:
This exposes an emotional wound without needing to scream or shout.
This is undoubtedly impressive, the way you trick someone into thinking that this is romantic . But with the line about sisters, this clearly shows otherwise
But I do not think that there is anything to improve
Love,
Queenie
Hello!
) The part in parenthesis is a little jarring but I understand why it's there. The first three paragraphs sound like the narrator is talking to a significant other rather than a family member, but then it's cleared up with the
I'm going to start this with a little bit of a disclaimer, I've been out of the reviewing scene for awhile and the writing scene a little bit as well so this may not be super detailed or really great feedback, but I will try my best.
I'll start off with the title. Very intriguing and fits very well, (I point that out as someone who really, really isn't good at coming up with titles
"we giggled the way all sisters did," line. Personally I didn't find it confusing and I like the versatility, as someone could read this and still feel/understand it without having any siblings. I can also see how it might be confusing for someone else though, but that's just an assumption on my part.
Is the narrator close with their sibling or is the relationship tense? It is hard to tell and maybe that's intentional, I don't know.
The lines:
"mine was a season behind yours,
but you never wrote it down."
and
"(you never ripped the presents open; you always handled them with love
i wish you’d done the same for me)"
Really hint at a tense relationship, or is this how the narrator is expressing the wish that the person had stayed?
Lastly, as someone who lost a sibling at a pretty young age, this poem really hits a string I could never really describe myself. It's interesting how sometimes everything else kinda fades away but the date remains, stronger than everything else.
I really enjoyed this and I hope this wasn't too confusing!