I suppose this will become an annual thing. I wrote this to celebrate another birthday, and am revisiting it this year. I don't know how many birthdays I have left. But, I have this one.
I am 76 today.
It feels like victory.
I have taken my medication.
I walked downstairs.
I made it to my chair.
It feels like victory.
I am joined in life
by my friends
and those who love me.
I have cast aside
the ones who don’t,
and they aren’t in the room.
It feels like victory.
I remember a young soldier,
full of himself,
and a young student,
preparing for a life lived in service.
I remember wars and death and lost lovers,
and tragedy.
I remember triumph and joy.
It feels like victory.
Every joint and muscle
in my body
aches;
but, I can still feel the breeze,
and breathe the air.
It feels like victory.
My clothes don’t fit anymore.
The trim young soldier
can no longer wear the uniform.
My ears can’t hear anything
in the upper registers,
and hair grows in places
it never did before.
But, it feels like victory.
Don’t cry for me
if I die today.
I had many days
in which I didn’t.
I lived many days
beyond my expiration date.
It is a victory. 
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