The Alarming Birthday Toast

Sometimes the postcards I collect interest me more from the message written on them than the postcard image. For example, this young lady writes to her friend;

Just a quick note,
early or late, to say
happy birthday. I
hope the sky finds
you well, the train
sings you to sleep,
the whiskey tickles
your throat, & a firm
hand slaps your ass 26
times over.
Lots of love, D

Now look, I know this is a tradition in some parts, but isn’t 26 a little old for the “birthday spankings” thing? She’s nobody’s poet.