"This Is 43" a poem by Edward Storm

this is 43

if you saw me on a date with most 28 year old women 

our ages wouldn't cross your mind

any more than what we were eating.

you wouldn't think she's one of the bunnies

out being spoiled by Mr. Hefner 

you don't assume she's in it for the money

or that I'm taking advantage of my experience 

you see we both have been in the real world 

long enough for the magic to have worn off

long enough to know exactly how cool we are

long enough to know 

life spent in limbo and hedging one's dreams

isn't feasible for much longer

long enough to know 

that it's already too late for a lot of things.

You know what?

i can still dress younger without looking 

like I'm trying 

and I know how to have sex with a woman

without falling in love just like she probably does 

im barely youthful but I am

you know I'm not her age but I could be

one of those addicts aging like shit

or have bad genes

so you'd not object if I insisted I was 

and as far as dating her

you'll give me two thumbs up even her parents would.

but not for long no sir no ma'am 

not for long 

I'm in the last few years of fitting in 

with that crowd of younger adults

between the ages from late 20s 

until early 40s.

they are all hard to tell the age of

maybe one did too much meth and is 28 but looks more like she's 40

maybe one is 42 and is a fitness addict

thus in the right light is still the homecoming queen 

the women my age 

some still get carded for smokes

in the right amount of makeup 

but even a hangover can make

one of them look

like her baby making days are 

over like dating artists 

or partners without a 401k.

For today 

I'm still here at the dinner party without a date 

and no one's worrying that I might be lonely 

or realizing that I'm never going to have a family 

but this business of aging 

the key to doing it gracefully

is to not be caught off guard

Fifteen years from now

i will undeniably 

be an old man

and she?

She'll be my age.