Let's make this birthday one to remember.

87 years old (Born on August 11, 1937)

Happy Birthday, Dennis! May your day be filled with more poetic inspiration than the time you convinced Sacramento that poetry was cooler than politics. Your verses in "The Truth Squad" and "Animism" still echo louder than a city council meeting—though admittedly that's not too hard.

From earning the Guggenheim Fellowship to serving as Poet Laureate, you've proven poets can indeed have goodwill (and even incorporate it!). Here's hoping this birthday brings you an Eden of cake and laughter—because let's face it, no one deserves a stanza-free celebration more than Sacramento's favorite literary legend. Cheers to another timeless year!