thirty-five

"To be told that you have a high-risk pregnancy can be quite alarming. It's a label that can be applied to a gamut of situations, from simply being thirty-five years old or older to having a life-threatening illness ". from Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy and Childbirth and echoed in every pregnancy book on the market today.

twenty years ago
(virginity and naiveté'
still firmly intact)
I thought
that by now,
all the riddles
would be solved
the heartaches
mended,
you know,
wisdom with age

my father, at seventy-one
(four times married
four times divorced)
is the first to say,
the wisdom,
not so forthcoming

his mother is ninety-two
(imagine the luck)
her wisdom,
repeated at every dinner blessing
a simple
'we're thankful'

my wisdom?
there's nothing to learn
but a handful of cliché's
which we learn and forget
learn and ignore

seems kinda sad
considering
I may well be
beyond the half-way point
of this particular ride

still a kid to
throngs of baby-boomers
but to my ob, nearing the end
of my 'child-bearing' years

waking each morning
to more lines around the eyes
aching knees and tight back

eventually, I stand tall,
but there's a hunger, a thirst,
an annoying need
I've known since I was
that damn school girl
still living without the wisdom
to sate