an extract from 'cream'

Got taut, tight skin? You’re in. Got ticking clocks? Botox. Detox.

Resist signs of ageing at all cost. Stop. Reverse. Hide. Slo mo.

Smooth your skin ego. Want a victory of science over time?

Want to reignite your youthful light? Deny age. Defy age.

No. Fight age hate. It’s a diabolical conspiracy

for women to age agelessly, line-, scar-, crease-free

I refuse to let the forever-young drug erase

the handwriting of life across my face

Allie Lee of the Profanity Embroidery Group embroidered an image onto a 1980s jumpsuit in response to my poem