Poem: A Certain Age

All the ill-informed 
Etiquette lessons 
From privileged experts, 
The fashion do’s and don’ts,
The tips on being
Better than the rest
Fall away
At a certain age.
 
I’ve tried on lots of things
Over the years. 
Only a few stuck 
And are tattooed 
to my inner skin.
I like it that way.
 
Mostly, though, 
I’ve schooled myself to stop
Looking at others’ reactions 
as a mirror.
 
I don’t really give a damn. 
Being a critic merely
doesn’t make you right.
 
No need to go full-blown 
Curmudgeon, either.
Getting older shouldn’t be
A stiffness. 
 
It’s about opening.
Acknowledging.
Clear-sighted seeing
What’s good, what’s not,
And what’s inbetween.
Above all, what is me.
 
It’s a fluid movement,
A flexibility 
That stretches broadly
(if awkwardly), 
Swirls and dances, yelling,
 
“I’ve got nothing to prove—
I’m past caring. 
You can keep your favorites.”
 
Time to be my own favorite, for a while.


                         - Meredith Alexander Kunz

One thought on “Poem: A Certain Age”

1. Meredith has brilliantly captured, at a not very-well-advanced age, her coming to realize that she no longer cares about the self-proclaimed “privileged experts” who offer “tips on being better than the rest.” She has wisely schooled herself “to stop looking at others’ reactions as a mirror.”

   At this point in her life, she has concluded that she’s “got nothing to prove.” She wants you to know that she’s “past caring,” stating, “I don’t really give a damn” what others think. But, she adds, she hasn’t gone “full-blown curmudgeon, either.” Getting older should be about opening, acknowledging. “Clear-sighted seeing what’s good, what’s not, and what’s in between.”

   “Above all, what is me.”

   Meredith boldly tells those self-important critics that they “can keep their favorites.” It’s “time to be my own favorite.”

   Brava!

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