they move as quick as flowing water

their manners are rough and their spellings worse

they laugh too loud, but it doesnt matter

theyre an unasked blessing and a blessed curse



they throw stones at your window at two in the morning

you say its too late and you wont come down

but they are full of the juice of persistence

they know they can make you come around



and even though you feel delirious

you know you really cant get serious

not with those young men, thats who I mean

young men, so young and green

are you shocked and surprised?

are you scandalized?

or are you, admit it, tantalized?



they ask me what it was like in the sxties

did I ever see The Beatles on LSD

one minute theyre making me feel so young

and the next as old as some redwood tree



theyre big on rap and bands like Sonic Youth

sounds just like noise to me if you want the truth

oh God, did I really say that?

I cant believe I said that

I used to listen to The Fugs, and Hendrix

and Frank Zappa!



save me from those young men

young and strong

young men can dance all night long

are you shocked and surprised?

are you scandalized?

or are you, admit it, tantalized?



oh what would my feminist sisters think

if they knew I consorted with younger fellas

would they suspect me of reverse exploitation

while secretly feeling just a wee bit jealous



I called an older male friend and I cry

I say Ive fallen for this wonderful guy

but hes just twenty-three and its such a drag

the friend answers dryly, dont brag!



older men with young women never had a problem

its this other way round thats all so new

I find myself doing pathetic arithmetic

when Im forty-nine, hell be thirty