Self-Inventory at Seventy by Jacqueline Jules

I miss
spicy foods and caffeine past noon.
A back that doesn’t ache at night.
Hands strong enough to open a pickle jar.
Eyes sharp enough to read small print.
Driving at night.
Mornings without medications.
Smooth skin minus age spots.

I don’t miss
the chemical odor of hair dye.
Tampons. Shaving my legs.
High heels. Tight dresses.
Rising for an 8 a.m. commute.
Running errands on my lunch break.
Office politics. Endless emails.
Juggling children and elderly parents.
Rushing through dinner and chores.
Never having enough sleep.
Always wanting more.
Not feeling fierce joy
in being alive another day.



Jacqueline Jules is the author of The Golden Key to the Garden (Bottlecap Press, 2026), Manna in the Morning (Kelsay Books, 2021), Itzhak Perlman's Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press, and Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember (Bushel & Peck, 2023).