I’m shelving books in a springtime

Blouse and high heels,

And life is okay when a patron

Walks towards me until she whispers

“You know, your shirt is on backwards.”

Then life rains on you for awhile. 

 

Once, a guy wrote how he

Preferred women in their thirties:

“Something about life experiences

That gives them that extra sexiness,”

(As if we are seasoned breasts)

but

 

I can’t imagine anyone telling me that

Just because I turned thirty

(And life experience prepared me

To expect that). Instead,

 

I leave the clubs for the next generation.

I go to bed at ten.

My metabolism takes the slow lane.

And I wake up in pain and try 

To guess why. 

 

I’m still taking prescriptions.

I had it right the first time—adulthood is messy.

 

And yes,  I do like it.