And Suddenly You’re Old
The records of your fuck-hungry
youth
don’t spin anymore.
The eyes of young women you
encounter
are the eyes of an alien race:
They make a brief taxonomic
evaluation
then quickly move on.
The eyes of old women demand payment
of some long-standing debt,
for which you no longer have the
currency
to satisfy.
You have watched your father --
who taught you how to swing a
bat,
who taught you the words you now
employ
to curse your failing body --
die without warning,
on a day that began as routine.
Then time becomes a crushed and
soggy tissue,
disgusting, no longer of
use.
And suddenly you’re old.
