i am a lonely old man interested in women

but uninterested in seeking the companionship

of women much younger than myself.

i have enjoyed being half of a couple off and on

every decade since the 1970s.

i have twice been involved with women

more than ten years older than i was

but never with anyone more than five years younger.

now my social media feed is bombarded

with friend requests and follow requests and come-see-my-link requests and message-me requests

seemingly from young adult women

seemingly from all over the world.

two guys i know fell for come-hithers

from purported women purporting to be

from the pacific rim. one of the guys ended up

declaring bankruptcy.  haven’t heard from the other guy in more than ten years, but i only knew him slightly.

i am a lonely old man

but sometimes i have been lonely

when I was half of a couple,

and now i am not all that lonely anyway, having some semblance of a social life,

and the doors to companionship sometimes open.

i am eager and hopeful to some day find someone

just as battle-scarred and saggy and unyouthful as i am,

and with just as much indifference to smooth flesh

and unsquawking bones.

i am a lonely old man

but it’s all good,

and sometimes it’s fun,

and sometimes it’s miraculous.