marketability

to be a single woman in

america & aging to boot,

one must have breasts that sing to

the air (that never fall, that never

sag, that never do anything but

what the magazines show on

their covers).

 

to be a single woman in america

& aging, one must have an a*s that

is firm (never dropping, never getting

too big, never getting too small,

always looking perfect in the tightest

of clothes, never doing a thing but

what the magazine covers say).

 

to be a single woman in america &

aging, one must have lips so lush that

they make one dream of the juiciest

fruits---they must have eyes that sparkle

like the sky or make one dream of the

deepest seas, all out of obligation to

whatever the magazine covers say.

 

to be a single male in america &

aging to boot,

one must have pockets that jingle,

that are flush with cash, that hold

a checkbook that never runs out of

checks---one must have a bank account

that makes Fort Knox look like a

Pez dispenser, so that they can make it

rain in the driest of places,

abiding by what all the magazines

say.

 

to be a single male in america & aging,

one must have property, one must have

assets, one must have a house in a different

area code gaining rental money, an apartment

in a tropical area, a mansion in the hills &

a place to “get away” from everything else,

hidden in an undisclosed location---

just like the television reveals,

just like all the playas in the videos &

the movies.

 

to be a single male in america & aging,

one must have a full head of bustling hair,

abs that one can scrub wet clothes on to

get off the dirt (or that can help whittle down

wood when one can’t find a knife),

one must have a gluts that can have quarters flipped

off them & biceps that can wrap around

& crush like the strongest python (bench twice

your weight, jump high, run fast, squat squat

squat & save the goddamn world)---

just like on the big screen.