Marking the Calendar

Every year I do the same –
The calendar gets marked
With birthdays and important dates
To help my brain get sparked.

I sometimes add occasions
For new friends or someone’s birth,
As sending cards is what I do,
For all that it is worth.

Yet this year there are certain dates,
Where names I’ve always penned,
That will be blank because I’ve lost
A relative and friend.

The August 1^st box used to be
Where Marilyn I’d write,
But now she’s buried six feet down,
Which never will feel right.

The need to write Aunt Helen’s name,
November 12^th, did end,
For age lay claim and that’s a card
That I’ll no longer send.

That’s just the way it goes, I guess,
But now it’s got me thinking
That every year I should expect
My list to keep on shrinking.