Happy Birthday, Tzmukan Wokan! (a poem)

[Na'vi taw'ite]

Today is Tzmukan Wokan's Birthday!

I was simply going to write out a birthday post for "my brother", but I got this bee in my bonnet to do something a little...more creative. So I woke up at 3:30am with the first line of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band" in my head ("Well it was 20 years ago today...") If you keep in mind the rhythm of the first two lines of Sgt. Pepper's, the stanzas will flow a bit easier. I fell asleep a few times, but the poem below is the fruit of my insomnia. I hope you enjoy it!

(*clearing my throat*)

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Well it was 16 years ago today, ma fellow T.o.S. smukan si smuké,
that a boy named Damián came to be, in a place called Punta Arenas, Chile.
And the way I came to know him was this (if I‘m allowed a chance to just reminisce):
‘Twas the day before it all went amiss and our beloved Avatar got a diss.

In a conference call that Saturday night, in a chatroom filled with people on Skype,
a handful forged a bond incredibly tight, and I was one of them, I’ll say with delight!
Our Damián was one of that handful, too: one of the few I call my own motley crew.
Playing football’s something he loves to do, and just like me, he loves his Dream Theater, too!

You can find him walking Mingo (his dog); he cheers his Manchester United along;
he plays his drums to the most hard-rocking songs, and he’s been plagued with aftershocks for too long.
He’s incredibly creative with food: like fish and pasta with peaches (it’s true!);
he’s learned to braid his hair (to have his own queue); and he’s been keeping up his high marks at school!

So, mi hermano cariñito, my “D”--I hope that with these words I’ve written, you’ll see:
that I love you like a brother, indeed; a big part of my little Skype family…
And now, my family here at the Tree of Souls, please make this task today your personal goal:
Would you please drop our Damián a “hello”? Because today he’s all of 16 years old!

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Damián--

I hope you have the best day today (and I'm sure you KILLED your Mech and Biology tests!). The only thing I wish is that we all lived closer, so we could all celebrate your birthday together. Or, we could celebrate belatedly in August!

Anyway, Felíz Cumpleaños, mi hermano!

Love,
Marilyn