Facing the awkward

by Kim Walters

My life does not go
from zero to fifty in sixty seconds,
though sometimes I've wished it would
and other times it's felt much faster.

Now, facing the awkward

and speaking frankly,

I confess to needing still
a man's strong hand
near the small of my back
neither guide, nor pressure
instead a quiet presence,
a perceptible warmth
of the palm
that will catch me
when life speeds at a dizzying pace
or slows to a disorienting back step
from fifty to zero
before I reach sixty.