Poetry by Sandra L. Faulkner

               ​Tony Webster CC



​
On the precipice of their 50th birthday, the overachiever realizes it’s too late to fuck up
 
to drop the biscuit
and take up with someone           20 years younger
smoke in the tub smoke during dinner smoke in bed
make salad with the carrots of    so many obligations
quieten the domestic din with    a solo ride
wherever the hell they want  
no whining or neat packaged snacks allowed
 
and
 
quit the gym                               forgo the extra helping of greens
throw out the map of knowing
torch the considered plans               with the lighter
they stole from the corner convenience store
in a town they’ve never been
 
and also
 
forget to pick up the kids from school
ignore the pleas                      for every piece of themselves
skip the team training to get too drunk
the liquor burn the slur of memory
 
then
 
hit on the hot dean
punch the colleague        who asked them to make coffee
in a professional meeting              piss on the pretention and preening
teach students off the record
blow up the learning objectives                 withered assessments
with youthful verve                         the smirk of a smart aleck
 
because
 
they can’t tell that younger self the fracture
of their personas                  the rejections of face
will soften and mold to their frame
like lying                 in some unreturnable overpriced bed
​

Faulkner researches, teaches, and writes about relationships in NW Ohio where she knits, runs, and writes poetry about her feminist middle-aged rage. Her poetry + images appear in places like Writer’s Resist, Literary Mama, Ithaca Lit, and Gulf Stream. She lives with her partner, their warrior girl, and three rescue mutts.    https://www.sandrafaulkner.online/

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