FIFTY-ELEVEN

When I turned fifty
I looked in the mirror and laughed
Seeing the child I hold inside
Shining out of my eyes

When I turned sixty
I thought
It’s time to be more serious now
I cut my long hair
Remembering what mother said
About older women not wearing long hair

By the time I turned sixty-one
My hair was growing back
My mother was wrong
When asked my age I paused always
Before adding the one to sixty

Finally, deciding I was happier
When in my fifties
I found a new way to tell the truth
Yet smile as I report my age
I am now fifty-eleven

(c) 2008 Beth NoLastName