formication

crawling under and in

formication --

yet another symptom
of the clock ticking
she is winding down
her body
disintegrating
hormones abating.
a cruel joke
knowing
it's all in her head
doesn't stop
them from hatching
doesn't stop her
from scratching.
If the bugs
were going to
crawl under her skin,
the least they
could do
is wait
till she was dead

Author's Note

An apparently "common" side effect of the delightful phase of life called perimenopause, lasting anywhere from 2 to 15 years ...

Reviews

[Jon Roggie]

I dealt with this when my leg was in a cast for three months. I don't see a problem.

I am joking.

Please,
don't hunt me down.

[Lyn Anderson]

I love you! That made me smile. So nice to see you.

[Jon Roggie]

I got a smile!

[Kelly Scheppers]

I do believe you are enlightening both genders at the same time! Well expressed, Kara!

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks, a bit of unintended side effect of my expressed angst. :)

[barleygirl]

Having been spayed at age 20 (i.e. surgical menopause), I must've missed this phase! *smile* I'm still on the idea of leeches . . . so I'm seeing these bugs as a metaphor for many yukky things in life that can get under our skin! I especially love the ending, about waiting until she's dead -- very clever.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you. I appreciate it. There are so many symptoms it makes a head spin. Somewhere the whole thing transitions to menopause, where other symptoms await. And nobody knows what best to recommend. Health care for women is at best a guessing game, up to and including experiences like your of early hysterectomy.

[aLittlePain]

Well damn!nhonestly I just liked the sound of 'formication' rolling off the tongue...lol.
Killer lines and consuming imagery! R xo

[Lyn Anderson]

Yeah, such a cool word for such a nasty thing. Thanks.:)

[aLittlePain]

You're always teaching me something KL. long live the art of learning!

[Lyn Anderson]

We learn from each other, don't we?

[aLittlePain]

One would hope

[V]

Great images, your last lines conjure up something like a deathly image in my head but in a good way. Good wordings, I enjoyed reading this one, there are different facets for me in this one, like shadows which differ from each other you have "painted" with your words.

[V]

Also I wanted to say sorry for not being active in the sense of reviewing that much lately...

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks as always. I can relate. Been remiss on reads and reviews lately myself. :)

[V]

Ok. You're welcome.

[Einstein Noodle]

from what i read about perimeno ...you are just scratching the surface ... ;} men have much easier ... during all of the life span says i! the worse itch we get is of the 7 year variety (sad to say) i think this is a great poem ..honest, informative and genuinely woman ... refreshing these days when students want to be called things like "ZE" instead of man or woman .. love and peace KL!
E.
ps. thanks for my new word "formication" ... so sexy :)))))

[Lyn Anderson]

Happy to hear from you. I swear I will get back to more reading and reviewing. My posts would all be of the negative variety, so I am choosing to keep some of my angst at home.:)

[Einstein Noodle]

in those immortal words of Shrek ..."Better out than in." :)

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Never heard of perimenopause, but reading a poem about a side effect I will say it is not very pleasant.

[Lyn Anderson]

Just thank God you are a man.

[Paul Bell]

Makes you itchy just reading it.
Great last line, that really summed it up.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

[Ana Papaya]

Sucks to be us eh? :)
I hope I don't do anything crazy during this time.

[Lyn Anderson]

yep. Best thing? No one knows how long it lasts. My hormones are still "normal"

[Gee]

Jeepers, glad I was born a fella. Childbirth, periods, then this, Christ almighty I'd be nuts too if I had to go through all this. (Nuts in the nicest possible way !!)

[Lyn Anderson]

Dude. If you want a good read look up perimenopause symptoms. Somewhere between 32 and 52, spanning 2 years to 15, no way of actually verifying them except through eliminating all other possible causes -- basically, if you are otherwise healthy, somewhere between 35 and 55, and have a wide variety of crazy symptoms, you are perimenopausal, until one day, you are menopausal, and then there are a whole host of symptoms that go with that. Don't take hormones, though, they will kill you ... :) :) :) :) :)

[Gee]

Have just read them out to my 49 year old wife who has apologised in advance for what is to come, has told me she loves me dearly,and her perhaps stabbing me in the years to come is no way to be viewed as a personal attack

[Lyn Anderson]

Good on ya. In the old days most of us died before this point so it wasn't an issue.

[Gee]

LOL, an early death or formication and all that the menopause might throw at ya, mmmmmm, some choice eh