Not So in the Middle

-
It may not ring bells
The way a carton of fried chicken
Branded in three alphabets would.

Midlife doesn’t shout.
It creeps in ...
Slow at times,
Steady at times,
Stealthy enough to catch you
Right when you finally think
Life is catching up with you.

And it comes with everything.
Financial woes.
Marital woes.
Parental woes.
Teenage woes.
And those
Woesome woes
You can’t quite name
But feel in your bones.

It has it all.

Where medical bills
Climb over school bills,
And menopause competes with puberty.
A tug-of-war that leaves you
Flabbergasted,
Wondering where to begin
And where the hell to end.

Despite the journey,
Despite the years
Of fighting, learning, unlearning,
It still feels like you’re forced
To begin again
After the first innings
Has drained you out.

And just when you think
It’s time to retire to the pavilion…
Early retirement?
Uff.
A far, impossible cry.

So you breathe a sigh,
Close your eyes,
Box-breathe,
Open them slowly.

And wow !
Only your BP has changed.
Dropped a tad bit.
That’s all.

Yet you rise again.
For another day.
Another start.
Another journey.

Realising we belong
To a generation
That may never be cared for
By the younger ones.
We will be long gone
Before any of that comes to pass.

We are on our own.
And maybe we shouldn’t call it
A midlife crisis anymore.

Call it what it truly is,

'The Chaotic Climax' .

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