The crone arrives like an undesired lover
leaving
the shape of your body
mutating.
Like an adolescent girl, you sense
changes
within:
unsought losses, unclear gifts.
You rage and sleep,
weep unwillingly,
demand more,
desire less.
There are no fairy tales here,
no promise of princes and beautiful gowns
only
the crone’s belly
and a different cloak of invisibility.
1997
Learning Living 