Memory Incomplete

Never ever in my life
Have I had a gala for my birth
What significance does a date have
For a newly born babe?

Maybe once, when I was small
But it was loud and traumatic
I still find myself sticking
To walls at parties

But I always wanted a surprise birthday party
The idea always seemed so pretty
And after all, why not?
I had thrown so many after all.

Every year, my expectations waned
Forget parties, I want a card
Hand made, ornate, with all the folding bits
And every year I was promised one

By those I called my friends
They'd have made it, had I reminded them
But, I wanted them to remember
My birthday by themselves