To a Tee (An Abecedarian by a Quinquagenarian)

 

 

The way we coax the weight from one another’s shoulders,

understand the end of the depths of our strengths,

void our swollen aches, carry together our

weariness.  You and me—

 

xerophytes if there ever were.  Tough and wiry

yellow-never

zacatons

abiding in hope,

bending enough to avoid the break.

 

Choosing to choose each other—

deciding to,

even in the

fight.  Saying

 

good night, and meaning it,

hands cupped around the last light

in case it really is

just like that—because you never

know.

 

Leaning in to steady each other

mostly since we’ve grown

not

old, but gold.

 

Plus, we’ve never looked sharper—with our

quick wits and silver foxiness,

right?  You and me, to a tee, like the kids used to

slang—

tight.

 

 

© 2026 Jennifer Wagner

 

Written for Laura’s dVerse Abecedarian challenge

OLN

 

Photo © Jennifer Wagner

still life/magazine cover

 

smashed fig leaves for tea on the table,

and collected plums—one three-quarter eaten,

 

white blossoms bowing half-mast

in a gleaming jade vase,

 

ironing board in the corner,

steam rising from the unplugged iron—

 

even an imagined whiff of perfume

of someone who’s just left the room—

 

my thoughts turn the page

and see

 

my parents

with their heads now bent with snow

 

and book a flight

home—

 

petals falling in three-quarter time—

like snow, like dust—

 

still life,

but collecting all the same

 

 

© 2026 jennifer wagner

  

Late for but inspired by Dora’s dVerse Poetics: Borrowing Bishop, with instructions to “dip your word-brush into Bishop’s poetic inkpot, as it were, consciously incorporating accuracy (detail), spontaneity (immediacy), and mystery (revelation)…”

 

dVerse oln #400

 

image generated by me using substack image generator 

Ladies of a Certain Age Know What I Mean

 

While I can still rock

a sexy halter top, tastefully, though,

and not too cropped—

 

when that day comes,

ladies of a certain age get the drift,

 

when the question

has turned to when, not if—

it’s off to the thrift to

 

alter top.

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

dVerse Quadrille:  a poem of exactly 44 words including the word “alter" 

Day 21 of NPM

 

Cold

 

Ding!  Ding!  Ding!

 

Congratulations!

You’ve won a

Colonoscopy!

 

Mammogram:  check.  Results are normal

but let’s have another check.

 

Blood draw:  check.

Menopause:  check, check, check.

 

Hot flashes!  That’ll treat the cold of

all these needles and machines

and thinning skin.

 

An MRI, too!  What fun!

All those joyous sounds!

 

Cervical spondylosis

is as sublime as it sounds,

so let’s strap this cage to your face

to keep the party going while we’re at it!

 

You didn’t hear that?  Oh, it’s just as well.

Forgot your readers?  That’s OK, too.

 

Can’t remember? 

You won’t want to, anyway—

but enjoy!

 

We’re just getting started with you!

 

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

 

What Cold Is at What’s Going On