Dating...

Styling

Dressing

All to go out

Place don’t matter

Bar

Or

Church

Sometimes

I’m checking out if I can

Swipe right

But mostly I find only

Swipe left

I’m unwilling to

Settle

For less than my worth

Turning down many a

Phone number request

Not willing to be just a

Piece of meat

A woman should always

Be treated like a

Lady

Especially if he is

Trying to make her

His

'Cause, guys, must always

Remember

A gal wants

A companion

A soulmate

A courter

That knight in shining armor

We learned early

We learned the hard way

It ain’t about the sex

Pats

Pokes

And

Penetrations

That’ll make a strong

Relationship

The best lay in the world

Won’t make up for

A pisspoor character

So, I’ll continue

Turning down the

Self-centered

Ignorant

Jerks who have

Come out of the woodwork

Like the cockroaches

They are

Since my divorce

'Cause word travels

Fast

In a small town

*A/N - It's taken me hours to decide to publish this piece. I haven't decided whether to leave it up or delete it. This is a scene I never thought I'd be back in, but here I am. Uncomfortable as hell.

I'd been with my ex since I was 19 years old, and finally left him after 32 years. Not all the years were bad with him, but the last six years were complete hell. The signs I had ignored had finally erupted into the full-blown monster he was. So now, I find myself, in my early fifties, considering dating again.

There must be an odor in women who put themselves on the dating block. Some type of pheromone. No sooner did the thought cross my mind than men started sending me messages on Messenger. These men were shut down for various reasons.

Reasons:

1. Chest selfies - look, okay, we get it. It looks good. We can see how well your shirt fits. You don't have to take all those pics in front of the dirty bathroom mirror. You didn't even take the time to hide the K - Y Jelly when you took these pics. Like, dude.
2. Multiple gym pics - Look, I really get it with the chest pics; you really love your body. You take great care of it. You go to the gym. A lot. Now, since you like to show off your muscles, how's the brain? What do you read? Can you play movie/tv trivia? What about history? What's your knowledge of that? That's the muscle I truly want to see flexed. Although the body is nice. Just why do I have to see so many????? Is that all that's on your mind? Is your mind that small? Ok, enough of that....
3. vehicle/motorcycle/boat/you got it pics - yeah, yeah. You're proud of your ride. Or is it a pic of your dream car? Once I see this as your profile pic, sorry, you're gone. I'm not impressed by material things. Impress me with your creativity, tenderness, and genuineness.
4. uglier than me - Okay, yeah, look, I KNOW I'm not a spring chicken. My looks faded with my youth. With age came health problems, which added their mark to my appearance. Don't make me laugh, because I'll snort so loudly. BUT my lord, if you look and laugh like a horse. I mean, where does your nose end and your chin begin? Ultra-narrow face. I ain't giving you my number. Oh, and how do I know he sounded like a horse? He hit me up in the grocery store.

All the choices I have to choose from so far have made me wonder if maybe I'm not ready to date or if my expectations are too high. If I'm not ready, I'm fine with that. I'll gladly wait until I find what I'm looking for. I refuse to lower my expectations, though.

* Thanks to Oneg I can now post this to the Confessions Community.