On This Day
Janet Kuypers
6/22/19
On this day,
the Romans defeated Macedonia.
On this day,
the Catholic Church forced Galileo
to denounce his heliocentric world view.
On this day,
Adolf Hitler made the fatal mistake
of attacking his ally, a sleeping giant.
On this day,
the Bionic Woman was born.
On this day,
toxic fog from an Icelandic volcano
spread past France, leading to their revolution
and killing tens of thousands in every European country.
On this day,
a girl, who was so unusual, was born —
and, she just wanted to have fun...
On this day,
Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing point
between East and West Berlin, was dismantled.
On this day,
one spirit came into existence
who would shatter people’s minds
when it came to deathly illness,
or racism, or sexism. But I still contend
that it’s just a date, who cares
about the day that people are born.
As far as I know, people don’t congregate
at a hospital with streamers and champagne
to celebrate the arrival
of someone who has yet to live.
So, as I said, why celebrate
these occasions. Because... it’s just a date.
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