it’s not what you think

Becoming a woman of a certain age and life stage brings interesting body developments. And along with those facts of life, comes facts of social media life – like once Instagram knows you are going through the adventure of postmenopause, it shares all kinds of helpful nonsense.

The first two stanzas of “It’s Not What You Think” are courtesy of my Instagram feed. The ridiculousness is real! Thank you to #RedRoseThornsJournal for selecting this poem for their online journal. There are a lot more gorgeous poems and prose pieces there – check them out.

it’s not what you think
it’s your estrogen drop
it’s your cortisol raging on stress
it’s drinking too much water
it’s stuck fascia
it’s your pelvis tipping forward it’s your fatty liver
it’s your lymphatic system
it’s carbonated beverages in the afternoon

just stick your tongue out for 40 seconds
just do this exercise for 28 days
just drink mushroom coffee
just read this three-minute article
just use this three-minute Japanese technique
just add this to your water and feel it working in 15 minutes just do tai chi walking
just make one quick switch to shrink belly fat fast

it’s the weight of the mental load
it’s the obscene bulldoze of greed
it’s the grab for control, subbing in for respect of women
it’s the relentless drip of national stupidity
it’s the postmenopausal invisibility
it’s the loved ones who fall more frequently but won’t tell you until the hospital
it’s the seemingly immovable status quo
it’s the undigestible righteous anger

instead disappear into the woods to sit with trees, not people
instead scream under water, release stress to the bubbles
instead dance hard and wild, sweat into the earth what you no longer stomach
instead reach your height skyward and arms wide so nothing can be moved out of reach instead refuse to step out of the way on the street
instead laugh and say “what a ridiculous comment to make” to people needing to hear that instead commiserate with the cronedom
instead notice and stretch toward the shift you want.

Like love, it will grow when acknowledged.