A Birthday Poem

A Birthday Poem

Just past dawn, the sun stands
with its heavy red head
in a black stanchion of trees,
waiting for someone to come
with his bucket
for the foamy white light,
and then a long day in the pasture.
I too spend my days grazing,
feasting on every green moment
till darkness calls,
and with the others
I walk away into the night,
swinging the little tin bell
of my name. 

A birthday in this poem is actually not like the birthdays we experience as humans. We celebrate a birthday once a year, on the day that our mothers gave birth to us. However, A Birthday Poem discusses the daily cycle of the sun, and so the sun experiences a “birthday” every single day. In order to liken the sun’s birthday to a human’s birthday, Kooser uses personification to give the sun human qualities. The sun “stands with its heavy red head” and is capable of “waiting for someone.” After spending a “long day in the pasture,” the sun completes its birthday cycle when “darkness calls.” A human is added to the second half of the poem to again create the connection between the birthday of the sun versus the birthday of humans. Kooser seems to be appreciating nature for what it is. This poem is a tribute to what we should celebrate on a daily basis – the sun rising and falling.