Another day, another year

To light the candles, without you here

It’s still the day that you were born

She says we laugh as we mourn

Nothing, she tells me, is ever really gone

Not you, not me, not him, it all just rolls along

An object never disappears without any trace

In its absence, there still exists a kind of negative space

Fill it up, she says, with love, with song, with candles on a cake

Light the darkness, take my hand, it will all be okay

So happy birthday, happy Birthday, happy birthday, we sing

Then plunge our fingers into cake with neon sweet frosting

Hands slick with sugar icing, we feed each other cake

Like a wedding we’ll have someday, the family we create

Nothing, she tells me, is ever really gone

Not you, Not me, Not them, so long as we carry on

So light a candle, take a breath, blow deep now, blow strong

Because after darkness, there always comes dawn