She should have gone to Specsavers
Midlife starts
when you’re half way there
(don’t mention to where).
The crux, the crunch the crud.
A musty hinging shadow –
centre of the well-thumbed book.
Musk memories.
Midlife smells.
Of denial.
In collagen plumping dollops and
Deep Heat.
Later,
it will stink.
And spelling haemorrhoids
will be mandatory.
Midlife practises sleight of hand –
praise be to HRT,
Photoshop,
foxy highlights,
Botox (not me dahling)
soft focus eyesight
and apps to tell you
who he is
and what he was in.
It’s an ambush waiting to happen –
whistling helps,
looking the other way
and passing the age-spotted hot potato
to her
or him
or both.
Midlife is blue
metallic
secondhand
smells of fresh leather
and goes faster.
Peugeot 306.
With the hood down.
What crisis?
beckykilsby 
Love it, Becky.
Er… did you get inside MY head?
And anyway, what’s wrong with a Peugeot 306?
Thank you, Jo.. strikes a chord eh? And I love my Peugeot…. 🙂
Lovely poem, very true and hilarious.
Great to hear that, David, thank you.
Did the words come from me – or you? Did you hear what I was struggling to mouth?
I think I did Patsy.. haha.. is that any consolation…?
ha you got the feel of that just right…i like the sleight of hand….and ambush…the peugeot as well…ha…i had one years back…
… so is it a Harley now Brian..? ha ha….. Thanks for your encouragement..as ever..
actually i dropped the engine on the car last wednesday so by next week i dont know what it will be…it was a good car…had the turbo model…unfortunately the turbo charger blew and parts became hard to find…
oooh… bad news.. sorry to hear that…
ah becky..you made me smile…my car of choice to laugh into the face of midlife crisis would the the Audi TT…but just in my dreams..smiles..loved it…feels familiar…ha
…now if we were talking dream cars…. ha ha…… thanks Claudia… happy to hear the familiar brought a smile… 🙂
not me dahling he he…Becky, this one cracks me up everytime I read it…always helps to have a sense of humor about the twists and turns…love the sassiness of this
ha! Good to know it still raises a laugh after a few reads! Thanks Em… much appreciated.
How bittersweet the midlife — memories of youth fresh enough to hurt, anxieties of aging sharp enough to bleed. (And yes, one does have to learn to spell those hemhawhorrendoidies). Watch those hot flashes, they can set a home on fire like that. The best thing about it is that all of that is so active and tensile in our hearts. Our best singing comes around this time. Nice wheels; if you get to drive with the top down (of the Peugot, I mean) on the beach, big yay for you. – Brendan
ha..ha.. thanks Brendan.. yes I do (Peugeot that is..).. and it’s a simple joy. It’s the denial that I’ve been tussling with, so writing this was actually very helpful 🙂 Trouble is feeling 18 still… poetry helps!
Thanks for your comments and for reading…
A great rendition of the inevitable…You’ve got the right idea with the Peugot. And what’s wrong with a dollop of denial now and then!!! Nice verse here and a great picture. Where I live, we won’t be driving with the top down for another five months. Enjoyed.
Thanks Steve.. sun helps too I agree.. one of Dubai’s big plusses (at least for half of the year). Appreciate your comments…
The title of this made me read further and I laughed so hard my sides ache.
Crisis, what crisis? HRT and a Peugeot 306 with the hood down, is all the therapy anyone could need/want, right? Right!
Right… 🙂 Tino… the car works for me anyway… thanks for commenting… Happy to hear you got a laugh..!
And sincere thanks for the link on your blog.. very kind of you.
I could swear that I commented on this! I loved it and remember it well. The midlife stinks of denial part–that doesn’t go away, actually. Or it hasn’t yet, and I think an objective observer would say I’m looking at it in that fuzzy rearview mirror, where objects are”closer than they appear” only backwards. You hit on all the angst–it seems unfair to have angst twice, once as an adolescent, and again when you realize how you blew your adolescence. ;_) But I think you’ve hit on the antidote. One woman’s denial is another woman’s reality.
That’s great Hedge… love your comments. I remember your poem on ageing and do believe it was one thing that got me started thinking around the denial.. 🙂 That quote about youth being wasted on the young…
Thanks for your continued enthusiasm… much appreciated.
Great! Thanks for putting a smile on my face at the end of a long day!
Thanks.. happy to hear that!
Mine was a Red MR2 T-top, spoiler and turbo! I made it from Hot Springs to Dallas in 2 hours and 15 minutes once with the help of every big rig on the road. Those were high flying days! For sure!
Loved the poem. Sadly it’s all true.
Thanks, Gay… great to hear your road trip memories and that you enjoyed the read and ercognised soem truth in it. Flirting with denial in the little blue Peugeot is just plain fun….