the rhino & cougar conundrum

fair enough to say that when
s/he got into it, when she dove
head-first into the pool of passion with
both eyes closed & arms outstretched,
that there was an inherent excitement
to be found attractive at his/her age
by someone so much younger &
all the fantasies in the head
from carnal sex to just getting to
stroll down the street with
this young thang hangin’ off her/his
shoulder (and the whole world seems to be
jealous)
run rampant,
as the romance gets off with a bang,
banging like bunnies persists &
s/he feels reinvigorated,
for this new young person in his/her life
becomes an integral part in
the beefing up of what had been a falling
self-esteem,
a failing personal value, a
slave to the depreciation of age &
this culture that wants absolutely nothing
to do with.

and as time passes, s/he even begins to think
that this could become something real &
that all the doubts of his/her friends
may not be proved correct &
after convincing him/herself that these very
doubtful friends are in fact
jealous,
s/he quietly, secretly, tells him/herself
that quintessential delusion…
that this person just might be
“the one.”

quick came the wandering eyes &
the insecurities came bubbling,
with an oozing jealousy of everyone around &
the double whammy stirring in the mind
that this young thang that said rhino/cougar
had hooked, could simply leave one day
with the rest of their lives ahead of them,
having burned away “the prime of one’s life”
like the proverbial candle wick.

so in fear, the rhino/cougar begins to do things
that they never thought they would,
in order to “keep” the young thang in their lives---
in the bedroom, they bow to the will of their
young lover, in the bar, they half to at least meet
them half-way under the table &
if need be, they must lose weight, dress in revealing
clothing, mingle with every friend, no matter
how dirty or strung out,
so much so, that the rhino/cougar lives in eternal worry
that their days are numbered,
wondering that if they get out now,
that they’ll have enough pizzazz to hook somebody else,
or that they will have to push themselves to the
furthest limit, in order to stay in this.