midlife

somewhere
in the middle
of a life,
of moments
book-ended by uncertainty,
when you find yourself
too old for the shells
you carried for long,
and too young
for the faint touch of sky
you still remember,
when you suddenly wake up 
one day,
as if from a dream,
and scorn at the skin 
of sheer neglect,
and the weight of burdens
you no longer feel
as your own,
when you look at yourself
in the mirror
to care for the face
who always measured you,
in ways you could never live up to,
when you toss a coin
and pick a side
just for the heck of it,
something you've never done,
when you stand at a fork
and choose one
only because you know
you can always come back
to that point,
anytime,
when you can swing
between extremes
of being and doing
womanhood,
because you suddenly realise
you are one -
woman.