The Second Half: A Poem for Hecate On Her Birthday

For Hecate, a woman who looks both inward and outward. Happy Birthday:

The Second Half

The second half of my life will be black
to the white rind of the old and fading moon.
The second half of my life will be water
over the cracked floor of these desert years.
I will land on my feet this time,
knowing at least two languages and who
my friends are. I will dress for the
occasion, and my hair shall be
whatever color I please.
Everyone will go on celebrating the old
birthday, counting the years as usual,
but I will count myself new from this
inception, this imprint of my own desire.

The second half of my life will be swift,
past leaning fenceposts, a gravel shoulder,
asphalt tickets, the beckon of open road.
The second half of my life will be wide-eyed,
fingers shifting through fine sands,
arms loose at my sides, wandering feet.
There will be new dreams every night,
and the drapes will never be closed.
I will toss my string of keys into a deep
well and old letters into the grate.

The second half of my life will be ice
breaking up on the river, rain
soaking the fields, a hand
held out, a fire,
and smoke going
upward, always up.

From one Boomer Broad to another,

Sia

Poem by Joyce Stuphen

Note: I've never actually met this lady, but I've been reading her blog for years now, and she always gives me something to think about or something to brighten my day. Sometimes her posts make me growl and sometimes they make me laugh. I hope she makes a collection of her best work for posterity's sake.

Thank you, Dear Lady, for your words and actions: The world is a better place for you being in it.

SV