Gracefully

As I grow older
I now notice little things
like my hands, they are not as pretty
as they once were, but they still
can hold things, and I can touch and feel things
especially when another takes hold of them

I have noticed my bones crack
as I move about
and my once pretty smile
is now without some of the teeth
I once had, and yet , still I am able to eat
and still , when I smile, others still smile back

I see little lines on my forehead
laugh lines by my mouth
and tiny lines above my lips
but the lines that exist I earned them
from so much life...with its times of laughter
times of worry, with its good times, and with its bad
all the joys and also the loss and sorrow and pain
I look in the mirror now
and I see a woman who prays to grow old
not in fear, not in discust , not fighting all the way
but who does so gracefully
thankful for every moment
realizing she has been so very blessed
all the days of her life

In my youth I did not see myself
as pretty or special, I did not stand out 
from the crowd
but always I knew that I was called upon
to reach out to others
to whisper in their ear
believe in yourself, enjoy your life
laugh and learn and play and listen
tell stories, share your heart
you are special, important and loved
always, I have felt this is a message
I needed to share, and so i do as often as possible

I no longer look in the mirror
and see a young woman
and there are times when I do admit
I miss her, maybe because I did not know her
as well as I wish I could have
I think about her and the path she walked
thinking to myself now, all in all, her footsteps
although not always taken on smooth and perfect roads
they all have been important and have brought 
her exactly where she needed to be

So here I am, at 58, no longer very young
and yet still there is a little girl who likes to play
and dance and sing and laugh alot
and these wrinkles and these bones that sometimes ache
and crack when I move about
are still just fine and what matters most
is that we live our lives as fully as possible
with gentle spirits, compassionate hearts
and hopefully, I pray, grow older and wiser
and closer to the Divine, and do so gracefully.