Getting Older
We see ourselves behind our eyes
Our eyes that see ourselves as children,
As teenagers, as young men and women.
I am a woman. I see myself as that young and beautiful
Wild thing that travelled to Italy then overland to India.
Today I saw the fine wrinkles around my eyes,
My mouth, my neck, my forehead.
The little hair sticking out of the end of my nose.
I saw the death of the young Susanna,
Of the middle-aged Susanna.
I see the old Susanna. I must embrace her.
She has lived a wonderfully unique life all her own.
We all have our uniquely wonderful lives,
or pitiful lives,
As we make them, create them, live them.
My perfectly wrinkled older face is alive,
breathing, hopeful
I am grateful for that.
I say goodbye to my images of youth.
They are gone. They are a memory.
I am here now, older now, with wrinkles, smile lines,
and possibly some wisdom.
Remember to remember, the path, the way,
the preciousness of each moment.