Typewriter Series #3088
On Aging + Its Beauty
It’s been said, and I’ve said it many times on this Signal Fire, aging is a gift. You know the old cliche, that it’s a gift denied to many, and so we should all do our damndest to appreciate it when it comes. Still, some falter at this, some fight the slowdown, the silvering, some inject, inflate, or cover-up. Sad, this.
Typewriter Series #3088 was born from this idea, and more, from the wrinkles I am seeing every single day when I look into the mirror. I’ve never feared these lines, I’ve never wished them gone. They are the bird feet prints I have waited 42 years to earn. This poem was born in the acceptance of the age that comes, if we’re lucky, for us all.
It’s a short one, but below is the typed version, as well as my podcast breakdown and spoken-word recitation. I truly hope you’ll join us as I’m posting a lot more of these for the members. It’s amazingly cathartic to jump behind the scenes, and I hope you find it that way too.
In the comments, let me know if there’s any poems you particularly want the backstory for, or a deeper dive into. I’d love to give you this.
At 52 I know there is more behind me than ahead. I intend to age gracefully ~ let it all go gray!!! Lines??? Earned and appreciated. I'll be the sassiest crone you'll ever know!!!!
In the words of The Amazing Devil "Your eyes aren't rivers there to weep, but a place for crows to rest their feet..."
I cherish my (very small number) of gray hairs, the lines that laughter has tracked along my face... I am reminded of the story of the bear that has been loved so hard and looks bedraggled... and he says "that's when you become *real*". It isn't something that I think should be used to disparage youth, of course, because especially as mum to a teenage boy I know how *real* they are, but moreso that overall the stories of our lives and loves being written across our faces is part of that reality.