How I remember birthdays

· by · in haibun, haiku, poetry. ·

What I remember most about my birthdays, is how quickly I forget them. The last day of January in the southern part of Sweden is almost never white with snow, I don’t recall how snow can be carved like silver in a moonlit luminescence. I have never skied and very rarely skated. On my thirtieth birthday I was working late. The day after I would defend my thesis for a PhD. At home my family was preparing food for the party afterwards, while I prepared for tomorrow’s dissertation. The suddenly an email arrived: “Your paper’s been accepted, to be published in Physical Review”, which meant I could do another update to my errata before I left for home. I felt confident that my birthday celebrations could wait until tomorrow.

under leaden skies
my cherry tree’s still sleeping —
counting caws of crows

The Disintegration Of The Persistence Of Memory by Salvador Dali

The Disintegration Of The Persistence Of Memory by Salvador Dali

This is actually a true story. As this was in 1991, I realize it was also very early in communicating by email. But I remember going to bed on my thirtieth birthday, knowing that celebrations would be combined with my dissertation party the day after. Today it’s haibun monday at dVerse, and we write about birthdays and/or super moons. Come join us at 9 PM CET. Here is the reference to my publication.
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November 14, 2016

30 responses to “How I remember birthdays”

  4. I love your haiku, and the little glimpses into your life. You share a birthday with my husband. He thinks it’s a good time to have a birthday – everyone’s recovered from Christmas, but needs something to celebrate because winter is still hanging on and on and on…

  7. I love this view into you, Bjorn, but I also find it sad. That you didn’t take the immediate time to celebrate….and that you were working so hard on your birthday. But….the results certainly were worth all the effort. I love, love, love the haiku.

  9. Such good timing – an email + birthday celebration. That haiku is just stunning with the leaden skies contrasting with cherry tree and cawing crows ~

    I love the personal share Bjorn.

  10. Unless there is someone there to make a birthday memorable, it is easy to forget it, Björn, but your thirtieth was a definietly a memorable one, receiving the email and a party to look froward to. Love the haiku – escpecially those crows 🙂

  12. Love this Björn. Love your frank honesty.
    Birthdays mean nothing to me, just a day after the day before. I celebrate every day I live, the joy of it.
    Of your abstract, I read (medical) abstracts often, but admit to understanding yours not.
    How wise you are!
    Kind regards
    Anna :o]

  19. Not just your intelligence was responsible but luck was with you on that birthday you remember so well…it must have been amazingly comforting to have such a meaningful birthday..also like ‘cherry trees sleeping’..

  20. Your haibun reminded me of my own PhD defense. It happened four days before my 29th birthday. There was a celebration for the newly acquired title two days after the defense… I remember winding down on my birthday, having dinner just with my family, still feeling a bit like walking among the clouds.
    Thanks for sharing your memory, and for inspiring me to relive mine. 🙂

  23. I can relate to this. It wasn’t my birthday, but how well I remember, January through March, waiting for word of my thesis and dissertation! Not so many months ago, and I hope to finish the last of it next year.

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