…………….Miss Maudene Redefines the 70’s
Julie Buffaloe-Yoder
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…………………………At seventy eight, Miss Maudene
…………………………doesn’t know how to do old lady.
…………………………She does know how to play
…………………………an electric guitar, jog around
…………………………her island, do yoga in the woods.
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…………………………Miss Maudene laughs the notes
…………………………of a thousand songs; she dances
…………………………on the beach, layered in mist, sun,
…………………………the pounding passion of sand.
.
…………………………She leaves her silver hair undone
…………………………to the waist, takes her black lab
…………………………in a beat up pickup truck to visit
…………………………old folks at the nursing home.
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…………………………She grows a little garden full of pot,
…………………………collects shotguns, sells her paintings
…………………………on the beach, rigs up her shrimp boat
…………………………in the setting sun, shows the boys how
…………………………to pull nets like a sea-strong woman.
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…………………………Her biggest critics are friends
…………………………from her own generation;
…………………………they call all the time to say
…………………………she must slow down.
.
……………………………It just doesn’t look right
…………………………for a woman of her age
…………………………to show so much leg.
…………………………People may talk, guffaw,
…………………………whisper behind cupped hands,
…………………………call her a ridiculous old lady
…………………………with sagging boobs or a
…………………………birthday card cartoon.
.
…………………………Miss Maudene says her boobs
…………………………are just fine, thank you, and
…………………………she might even buy a bikini.
.
…………………………She lets the machine pick up
…………………………her telephone calls, surfs the net,
…………………………carries a longboard to the shore
…………………………to ride the deep green swells
…………………………when a hurricane is coming.
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…………………………Miss Maudene grew up
…………………………in an orphanage.
…………………………Except for a few old nuns
…………………………who tried to beat her
…………………………into submission,
…………………………she never had a mother
…………………………to show her
…………………………how to put on a shawl
…………………………and gracefully
…………………………crawl to the grave.
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