Poems about birthdays are often celebratory in nature, marking someone’s day of birth with images of their life and ideas about who they will become in the future.
These poems are usually also written by contemporary authors. Simple, celebratory birthday poems are unusual within the history of poetry (but not entirely unheard of). They often use very direct rhyme schemes, like perfectly-rhyming couplets and quatrains, as well as easy-to-understand images. One shouldn’t be surprised to also find birthday poems with jokes, puns, and other examples of humor meant to entertain the reader.
At the same time, other birthday-related poems take a darker, more nostalgic tone. Some consider past birthdays, aging, and how things have changed (for the worse) since last year. Others may be written on the occasion of someone’s birthday who has passed away. Consider, for example, a poem written from the perspective of a widower, considering his wife’s life on her birthday after she’s passed away.
Rossetti’s ‘A Birthday’ radiates joy, likening the heart to vibrant nature and festive symbols, marking love’s euphoric arrival.
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
‘Rite of Passage’ by Sharon Olds is a disturbing poem that describes how a group of six and seven year olds acted at a birthday party. They immediately compare their strengths and ages, and even suggest they could kill a young child.
As the guests arrive at our son’s party
they gather in the living room—
short men, men in first grade
with smooth jaws and chins.
’39’ is a poem in which the narrator looks back on his life while eagerly awaiting his fortieth birthday and the years that will follow.
I only woke this morning
To find the world is fair —
I'm going on for forty,
With scarcely one grey hair;
‘On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year’ by Lord Byron reflects on the poet’s passionate life and his desire for an honorable end, filled with themes of glory and heroism.
Seek out—less often sought than found—
A soldier's grave, for thee the best;
Then look around, and choose thy ground,
And take thy Rest.
‘Christ’s Nativity’ by Henry Vaughan celebrates Christ’s birth, juxtaposing joy with human imperfection, highlighting redemption’s transformative power.
Awake, glad heart! get up and sing!
It is the birth-day of thy King.
Awake! awake!
The Sun doth shake
‘September’ by Ted Hughes is a moving poem that touches on a troubled and important relationship.
We sit late, watching the dark slowly unfold:
No clock counts this.
When kisses are repeated and the arms hold
There is no telling where time is.
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