by Regina Nervo
Flipping through August's Vogue,
The Age Issue
I discover the secret to tight toned arms
is a surgical procedure done on twilight sleep
ending with a visible scar in the pit of your arm.
I discover that "before 40 women" are waiting,
waiting to become wiser, smarter, sexier
and well dressed.
The mate finding, career hunting,
having children days over.
I am advised that all women must "pause" for menopause,
fess up to the loss of libido and heart palpitations.
Put away the "nasty" T-shirt. Buy lingerie.
See a cardiologist. Keep things interesting.
Exercise and pay attention to how you look.
At mid-life, I am urged to harness the power
of the hormone induced change,
in order to be transformed.
It is a second round of poker.
I have a whole new hand to play.
This, the scientific conclusion.
So I pause and accept the fact
that I too am becoming sexier as I get older.
I pause at the checkout stand.
Say yes to being "helped out"
with my loaded down grocery cart,
say yes to the handsome young box boy.
I pause flirtatiously and indulge
in this coming of age opportunity.
Regina Nervo, lives with her husband and two children in Southern California where she teaches and writes. Her first collection appears in City by the Sea, which received the 2005 Jane Buel Bradley Chapbook Award and was published last year by Pearl Editions. Her work has appeared in Sheila-na -gig, Rip-rap, Pearl, and The Union.