Exhilarating energy 
Incredible calm 
Belly laughs: July Fourth
explosions
Foreign for four
menopausal years

Now come in short bursts
Long enough to nerve-
twitch me active
After hibernation
in my selfish eggshell

I hatch slowly
Each day cracking
lost wonders
Ice cream and oatmeal
for breakfast
English for Chinese neighbors
Lunch with an editor
An afternoon rest home visit
A cat-in-heat night

Hello sunshine!
I'm 54 years old
at Disneyland
With the rest of my life
to take rides
I follow famous sisters
through Tomorrow Land

At 60 Colette opened
a beauty salon in Paris
Jackie O became a book editor
Margaret Meade said
The most creative force in the
world is a menopausal woman
with zest

You haven't seen anything yet
Margaret Meade

This poem first appeared in the Sun Poetic Times.
Used here with the author's permission.