Then

Tousled black curls

You don’t know how good 

They look

The lustre not yet faded

The swell of your belly

Fecund in its prime 

You don’t know 

Yet

It will swell 

Again 

Years later

You don’t know 

Those lips that have kissed

Will 

Want beyond imagining 

Years later 

In a silent room

You don’t know 

That in time

The swell

The curl

The lips

Will loose 

Their shine

Then in a blaze of sunrise reds and orange 

It dawns 

On you 

That you should have

Could have

Would have

Loved yourself more

In those moments 

Because now

The curls fuzz

In shades of grey

The belly balloons 

In menopausal revoltk

And lips that have kissed

Seek forever more

What they can not 

Have

Find

Desire

You do not

Can not 

Know

As you walk along 

The quiet street

Your black 

Hair tousled in 

Wondrous curls

Your belly 

Swelling

With life

You do not 

Can not

Imagine 

Then 

How much more 

You should have 

Loved yourself

From the moment

You pushed your way 

Out of 

Her

Into the world 

You should have loved yourself 

From that moment

Then.