Caroline Giles Banks

Screen Break

Early evening TV ads, targeting octogenarians like me, peddle drugs for osteoarthritis (OA), osteoporosis (PMO), incontinence (UI), memory loss (MCI), and other medical initialisms. Possible side effects, including nausea, dizziness, high blood pressure, even chest pain, speedily scroll across the screen in unreadable fine print.

Wanting relief, I turn off the TV, unknot my hair, and intently read sensual love poems by Yosano Akiko.

googling
Senior dating sites—
hedging my bets

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About the Author

Caroline Giles Banks, born in Boston, is a cultural anthropologist whose poetry is often informed by her anthropological training and research. She is the author of several books of poetry, including Pressing Matters: Haiku, Senryu, and Haibun Poems; The Clay Jar: Haiku, Senryu and Haibun Poems; and The Weight of Whiteness: A Memoir in Poetry. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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