I stood in a room
There was so much gloom
surrounded by strangers
and unspoken dangers

All the men and the women in this room were lost
For all the folks here some line had been crossed
‘Behavioral ward’ was what it was called
If you ended up here, you would be appalled

For I directed myself to the ‘psych ward’
with my brother whom I completely adored
To celebrate his 52ed trip around the sun
As my heart swelled with cheer a sweet song begun

It didn’t matter so much who was singing this song
for when you hear it you smile the entire day long
This song is sun every year at the same time
This one special day people treat you divine

No one ever thought you would get this far
The fact you survived is so completely bizarre
When they first found the cancer
You asked ‘how long’ … there was no answer

The doctor said 3 months, no more
‘I’ll beat that number’ you swore
Now 5 years later you showed us all
That you were in it for the long haul

This will be the last trip around the sun you see
For there is only so much time you can get for free
The cost that each day takes on your body so frail
Is hardly as much as any reward could entail

You life has been hard
the road has been long
when you finally let go
I will sing you this song

This song you will hear will travel through time
You will know when you hear it, the song will be mine
I will sing ‘Happy Birthday’ when you go in the ground
And your spirit will rise as it hears that sound