Feeling The Heat Poem by Charlotte Shyllon

Bodies crammed into a train,
I'm late for work, yet again!
Starting time long since past,
Walk into the office… I'm the last!

Hot and sweaty, heading for my seat,
He's the last person I need to meet!
A look of reproach from my boss,
Before I've begun, I'm at a loss!

Feeling the heat in ways he can't know,
Exhaustion I'm hoping I don't show.
I know he thinks I'm lazy, or worse,
Wants to give me chapter and verse

On why I need to do better,
And continue to be a go-getter.
Less than perfect isn't tolerated;
Being the best, that's what's rated.

In an industry where youth is fêted,
Your half century isn't celebrated.
I kept mine quiet, under my hat;
Colleagues had parents younger than that!

Yet when I hit fifty
I felt pretty nifty.
Then I turned fifty-one
And was suddenly undone.

Just one word, but it packs a punch:
Menopause. Thanks a bunch!
No one warns you what to expect,
Suddenly feel like you've been decked!

Tiredness unlike anything felt before,
Insomnia, weight gain and now you snore.
Confidence knocked, mind befuddled,
Once you were sharp, now you're muddled.

Worst of all are those hot flushes;
Only a fan can spare your blushes.
Now ‘looking hot' means feeling the heat,
You sweat buckets and just feel beat!

Each woman's experience is unique;
Some symptoms wane, while others peak.
Just do all you can to cope;
Most of all, never lose hope

Copyright - Charlotte Shyllon,2017