Once again Donna George Storey has opened a great topic and others have made fascinating contributions to the discussion! Here's part of my side of the Storey.
At 55
Shock and horror
registers
my heart sinks
my breath taken
like being hit in the chest
the heat of
every embarrassment
humiliation
shame
indignation
fear
anger
relived
when a warm wave washes
over my face
and shoulders and
ribs
I take a deep breath
and wait it out
knowing
this too shall pass
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Hmm, I feel as if I've taken a quick trip to my future, Isabel!
What particularly intrigues me is how a "purely" physically-induced experience is linked to past times when there was a social/emotional reason for the wave of heat. Our minds really do work that way.
I'm 48 in December and so far I haven't yet experienced such things, but they will happen, I know. I feel as if I've just figured myself out and now the rules are all going to change, lol. Isn't life interesting that way? You do start to get it, that everything will indeed pass.
Thanks so much for sharing your thought-provoking poem.
Thank you for letting me share this with you Donna.
My question is this: Is it a purely physically-induced experience and/or is it exacerbated by our response/reaction to it, because, I face it, some of this aging process is terrifying, but if we take a deep breath and let it flow can we get through it with at the least grace and dignity?
I'm going to push the limit here and give you the flip side of this uncomfortable experience in another poem.
At 53
A soft warmth
Washes
Over my face
My breasts revert
to supple
pre-motherhood crescents
Hyper sensitive to the touch
Nipples and cunt yearn
Desire mounts
And now
Only warm semen seeps
Where once
My warm blood flowed
Beautiful, Isabel. And I found the "flip side" poem lovely, too. Thanks for sharing these!
I just commented on Donna's blog about the intelligence of the body, and I agree much with you both that our response to/interpretation of physical/body-related aspects have relevance and that experiences of the physical body are opportunities to be in touch with ourselves on many levels.
Thanks!
Brilliant, Isabel!
And now
Only warm semen seeps
Where once
My warm blood flowed
Amazing image!
Thanks Emerald! I feel very strongly, literally and figuratively, that the physical and psycho/emotional are intricately interwoven. We need to heed both our physical and emotional signals. One follows the other and it is never clear which is which.
Thank you Jeremy.
"I feel very strongly, literally and figuratively, that the physical and psycho/emotional are intricately interwoven."
Definitely.
Thank you again for sharing the beautiful poetry!
Popping back after a busy Saturday--wow, Isabel, "At 53" should be at Clean Sheets! Very, very sexy and evocative :-). I mean this--you should submit to them!
Emerald said it for me already, but of course making meaning is what the human brain craves, isn't it? And I'm sure our cultural context as well as our personal history in making meaning influences the experience. As you pointed out, if menopause is seen as liberation and a chance to explore sexuality as recreation rather than reproduction, then it will be greeted differently than if it's seen as the end of desirability, with the assumption that our husbands will now dump us for a younger woman (although that brain book said 65% of divorces after 50 are initiated by the woman!) Change is always a challenge and not that we should aim to go through it without conflict or struggle, but I like the idea of doing it differently, borrowing from other cultures, challenging the status quo. I guess I've always liked that, lol.
Again thanks for making me think!
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