He put his Steely Dan CDs
in a box under the bed
bought three pairs of baggy shorts
wore his cap backwards
learned to swear like Fred Durst
(or was it Kirsten Dunst? He could
never be entirely sure.)
Took to clubbing. He sought out
young women with black hair
(or auburn — almost anything but that particular
shade of bottle blonde)
and more money than good sense.
For a while it all went well.
With the little blue pills
bought cheap online
he gave them a good time
every time.
Then, in a private moment
one of his conquests
caught him listening to the Moody Blues.
When she spread the word
the good times were over. He hung up his cap
gave the shorts to charity
and subscribed to Sky instead.
Credit note: “An Adventure” was first published in JAAM 22 (November 2004) and included in my second poetry collection, All Blacks’ Kitchen Gardens (HeadworX, 2007) – signed copies still available from me for $10 (plus p&p) – email me at senjmito@gmail.com if you’d like one.
Tim says: There are a few “midlife crisis” poems in my latest collection, Men Briefly Explained, but this is my first attempt at the genre, from my previous collection. This is Fred Durst. And this is Kirsten Dunst.
I first posted this poem on my blog in 2008, but as the Tuesday Poem wasn’t going then, I have given myself free rein – free rein, I say! – to repost it here.
You can check out all the Tuesday Poems on the Tuesday Poem blog – the hub poem in the middle of the page, and all the other poems in the sidebar on the right.
