Mum's Birthday

Today is our mum's birthday and we're all scattered all over the world. Me and Yulia are here in St. Petersburg. Liz is in Mexico. Dad's in New York. Mum's somewhere else. Things do fall apart when the center disappears. Not necessarily in a bad way, but still. So, in honor of mum, here's one of my favorite poems. And also,

С днем рождения!
Lá breithe mhaith agat!
生日快樂!
Joyeux Anniversaire!
יום הולדת סמח
Buon Compleanno!
Χρόνια πολλά!
Feliz Cumpleaños!
هبّي بيرثدي
Aniversário Feliz!
誕生日おめでとう!

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.      

We slowly drove, he knew no haste, 
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

Happy Birthday Mum!