.

Half the Night

a villanelle

My stomach isn’t working right.
Bubbles, gurgles, twinges and sighs
Kept me up for half the night.

I’ve got hives too, quite a sight—
Neck, belly, all over my thighs.
My skin just isn’t working right.

Aching and stiffness are my plight;
Take my meds, don’t eat those fries.
They kept me up for half the night.

Silvering hair could be a delight
If I were searching for a disguise.
(It’s clear my thoughts aren’t working right.)

Crinkly skin is another blight.
Wondering what else will arise
To keep me up for half the night.

Yes, growing older can be a fright—
At the end, will there be a prize?
Meanwhile I’ll sit here and write
While I’m up for half the night.

.

.

Cynthia Bernard is a woman in her late sixties who is finding her voice as a poet after many decades of silence. A long-time classroom teacher and a spiritual mentor, she lives and writes on a hill overlooking the ocean, about 20 miles south of San Francisco. Her work appears in Multiplicity Magazine, The Heimat Review, The Journal of Radical Wonder, Verse-Virtual, Passager, and elsewhere.

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16 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Thankfully your sense of humor is intact as you (and I) are growing older! This is another fun one to read, but it may keep me up for half the night,

    Reply
  3. Paddy Raghunathan

    Cynthia,

    Very witty. But we must tell us that we get wise as we get old, it’s the only way we can stave off dementia.

    Best regards.

    Paddy

    Reply
  5. Paul Freeman

    Myriad aches and pains – and a free bus pass! That’s what Father Time’s gifted me. Luckily the aches and pains ain’t too severe and tend to go away after a while.

    Thanks for an entertaining, yet still thought-provoking read, Cynthia.

    Reply
  6. Satyananda Sarangi

    Humour at its very best!

    Loved the poem, Cynthia ma’am.

    Reply
  8. Corey Jackson

    I can relate to this . . . I am in my late sixties and like to write villanelles, too. Your endearing sense of humor gives me a buoyant impetus to keep poetically creative, so thank you for this light-hearted poem!

    Reply

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