Auspicious

“Thirteen and twelve are our lucky numbers”

my mother used to say —because in our family

those dates appeared often: birthdays,

weddings, other special events. It was good

not to have to fear the “unlucky” thirteen

everyone else dreaded (all the kids at school).

Sure enough, Andrew and I were married

on the 12^th (my birthday) and on the 13^th —

first the legal, then the spiritual rite.

The first was small, only our grown-up

children present. The second was a party

with a  crowd of our friends. Now, 20 years later,
our youngest grand-daughter, Emily, turns 13.

Submitted for Poets United's Midweek Motif: Thirteen