Sonnet by a Mature Woman

New wrinkle creams entice from glossy ads
with svelte, young anorexics smiling out
at both my chins, at skin too old for fads.
Bold claims portrayed in color, dull my doubt.

Be young. Be free. Deny the lines of time.
The agony of blemish, breasts that sag
must never mar a body fit to climb
perfection's route, nor risk cosmetic snag.

And yet my husband sees each bulge and flaw
with eyes that know the gain and loss of years
we've shared: the new and old, the fresh and raw
of yesterdays with struggles, joys, and fears.

We see within each other love held deep.
Compared to banal wisdom, beauty's cheap.






(Grand prize winner Dream Weaver Magazine, January 1998)