Today Is My Birthday

What am I really made of?

Photo by Angèle Kamp on Unsplash

I Am Cerium

Today is my 58th birthday, and I am Cerium, a chemical element with an atomic number of fifty-eight. Cerium is soft and silvery-white, tarnishing easily when exposed to air.

After being exposed to air for 58 years, the tarnishing process has settled deep into my bones. And today — my birthday — I can almost feel the weight of more…