I realize my lead-in photo here is possibly . . . oxymoronic . . . to you. A photo of 20-pound weights? In my basement fitness area? AND poetry? I get it. It’s . . . unexpected.

But. It’s really not. (Because everything is poetry.) And besides . . . there is a story. (Because of course there is a story.)

I follow an inspirational young woman named Elizabeth Davies (@thiswomanlifts on Instagram). She is a fitness coach in the UK, and she has taken on the mantle of promoting . . . working on your “old lady body.” She also takes on the whole “beach body” nonsense, real-woman postpartum bodies, the media’s ridiculous focus on movie-star-bodies, and body image generally. She is smart, no-nonsense, practical, and an inspiration to women of all ages and stages of life. I’ve been following her for years.

I’m including a screenshot of one of her Instagram posts from last spring . . . written and posted just as all the “get your summer body” ads and promos were coming out. (This is a great example of the types of messages she posts, by the way.)

Well. That particular post from Elizabeth Davies resonated with a young poet, Lauren Bowman . . . and Lauren (@l.e.bowman.poetry) was inspired to write a poem. She incorporated some of Elizabeth’s post in the title.

I’m sharing that poem with you today. I hope you find it inspirational . . . as you work with or deal with or just accept your own “old lady body.”

“I’m training for my old lady body. Dense bones. Strong muscles. A healthy heart.”
L.E. Bowman

You can keep your sapling body; I want to be a mountain.
Live oak limbs and black gum roots.

I want a base ample and unshakeable.
Thick and steady. Storm-ready.
Resolute.

I want skin intimate with the wind, the sun, the rain.
Weathered enough to tell stories. A testament to my
strength.

I want bones trained to carry.
Veins that flow like rivers to my ocean of 
a heart.

You can keep your pre.
You can keep your new.

I want after.
I want profuse.

Because this poem is pretty new – @l.e.bowman.poetry posted it on Instagram on May 3 of this year – I’m not sure that it’s actually been published. Yet. You can find out more about Lauren Bowman here, or follow her on Instagram or on Substack.

And remember . . . it’s never too late to start training for your old lady body (even if you already have one).

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You can find A Gathering of Poetry every month . . . on the third Thursday.
Share some.
Read some.
Gather up some poetry!

(Bonny is hosting a special link-up for A Gathering of Poetry. Be sure to check it out!)