Here’s wishing you a happy birthday
The summer sun’s come to warm you up again
No-one here is getting any younger
But how old we are is all in our heads
But time to stop for a reflection
Now it’s been three score and ten
Years replete with rich connections
And here we all are yarning once again
With your dogs I see you walking
Down past the warmies where the hopeful fish
Almost 40 years you’ve been living here
Under Newport’s blinking obelisk
You hold these well trod streets within you
You know each scent each trembling leaf
Seen neighbours leave and others settle
So many heartfelt stories that you keep
At work they come to seek your counsel
So many years of knowledge earned
So much reading, art and music
Always learning with a heart that throbs and burns
For every doubt and fraught decision
A thousand joys a thousand friends
So much grace and so much wisdom
So much love to give and bask within
And all these years of unsung giving
A home with wide and open doors
A haven when the world is heartless
A quiet room to breathe within the storm
And at your side a love as constant
As the wide and timeless sea
May you ever move together
Stepping through this endless mystery
Look around this room and smile
How many meals have we shared?
Down the years across the miles
Through the laughter and through the tears
Who knows how many more are left us
But there is this that I can say
Love’s returned as it is given
Here’s to many many more such days
bob's songs 