Climacteric Years

The Greeks multiplied by seven or nine

to name them.

They are the metaphorical

turning points

in life.

Critical 

           Rungs 

                 on 

                   the

                        ladder.

Memorable Landmarks. 

Historic Mileposts.

Watershed moments.

You also know them as 

Menopause

Andropause.

But they include other fateful years.

Such as 2020

a year of pivotal consequence

and this year

Of seismic  shifts

When I question everything.

1-12-26

From Merriam Webster:Climacteric comes from the Greek word klimaktēr, meaning “critical point” or, literally, “rung of a ladder.” English speakers have long used climacteric for those inevitable big moments encountered on the metaphorical ladder of life. The major climacterics in a person’s life were once thought to happen in years denoted by multiples of 7 or 9 or only in the odd multiples of 7 (7, 21, 35, etc.). The grand (or great) climacteric was held to occur in the 63rd (7 x 9) or the 81st (9 x 9) year of life.