Petty
by Marilyn Cavicchia

Fuck all of you who didn’t wish me a happy birthday today,
even those of you whose birthdays I forgot on Facebook.
Fuck all of you who are going to sneak in past 8:00 p.m.,
when everyone knows that doesn’t count. Yes, I have
posted birthday greetings at 11:00 (just made it, ha ha)
or the next day (sorry belated) or in the comments
when you thank everyone for their birthday greetings,
which made your special day that much more special—
and yes, again, often I have not said anything at all because
you have enough friends, enough Happy Birthdays,
and the one I forgot would never be missed, because
how petty would you have to be, to get mad about that?

Marilyn Cavicchia lives in Chicago. Other publications in which her work has appeared recently or is forthcoming include Instant Noodles, Hags on Fire, and The Parliament. For more gripes, follow her @MarilynCavi.

Image by Thomas Ulrich from Pixabay.