You’ll only have so
Many years to get
A good catch, Grandma
Said, after that you’ll
Have to take what’s left
Of the bunch. Sure you’ll
Have men sniffing round
Like you’re some bitch on
Heat, but they’re going
To be two a dime,
Not worth your time or
Long-term devotion,
If devotion is
What you want and some
Girls don’t want that they
Just want to be had
And had good, but for
A really good catch,
You’ve got to get them
While you’ve still got things
To offer, something
Mysterious and
Hot beneath the cloth,
Something they’d sweat long
After and prayer for.
Grandma would pause then,
Light up a Camel
Cigarette, sip from
Her large glass of gin
And give you the hard
Steady stare. Of course,
I left it too late,
She said. Got myself
A leftover, some
Other girl’s toss off
Or rejection, but
I got desperate,
See, had to have some
One permanent to
Share my bed and give
Me kids and make a
Home and save me from
The lonely rooms and
Being left on the
Shelf. You remember
Grandma’s funeral
Years later, flowered
Coffin, four unknown
Men to carry the
Cheap boxwood coffin,
A few family
Members, and an old
Guy sitting at the
Back of the church, some
Old flame maybe, some
Guy who’d shafted her
In earlier days,
Remembering the
Old times quite fondly,
The razzamatazz,
The love, the booze and
The hot bloodied jazz.
