Cloudless Day

My dad blows out his birthday candles in one breath.

His smile lines

have started growing, inching

across his face, an invasive species.

What once were constellations

are now a dizzying reminder

that he is old,

older.

Maybe the wrinkles

are the roots of his

soul, spreading out

across the soft pale soil

of his skin,

sinking into my memory

forever.