Memorial Day Birthday

"Memorial Day 

honors those who have died 

while in military service.

The first national celebration 

of Memorial Day 

(originally Decoration Day) 

took place 

May 30, 1868, 

at Arlington National Cemetery."

Therefore, my birthday 

always fell on the holiday

when I was growing up.

I was a May 30th, 

All American,

Gemini Gal...

I couldn't celebrate without

the Red, White and Blue

colors dotting the landscape
and my clothing...

as I danced among the graves,

of loved ones that had passed...

while laying flowers and wreathes

at their head and feet.

"But in 1968 

Congress passed the

Uniform Monday Holiday Act, 

which established Memorial Day 

as the last Monday in May,

in order to create 

a three-day weekend 

for federal employees; 

the change went into effect in 1971."

So my birthday no longer 

was celebrated on Memorial Day.
It was a hard pill to swallow

because they had always gone

hand in hand

and then suddenly, they didn't. 

 PLEASE

set aside time

to pause and remember 

"The brave die never,

 though they sleep in dust:

Their courage nerves 

a thousand living men." 

 "With the tears a Land hath shed. 

Their graves should ever be green."