Originally uploaded by themindee
Aging
by Sharon R. Poet
I stood in the line where every body goes,
To fix the aging form of skin, hair or nose.
But strong as stone, I stood as I studied my reflection,
And found these words, I felt, in my body’s deep rejection,
“Each crevice built for tears – these wrinkles on my face,
Are proof of precious years that NOTHING can erase.
In the grey of my fine hair, I sometimes see a glow.
Please handle it with care and let the magic show.
The sparkle in my eyes grows brighter every day.
Please don’t cover it up. Don’t take that away.
Every blemish, bump or sag, in the eyes of the weak,
May make me a hag. But HEAR these words I speak.
I want to remain human – the Truest kind of all.
Don’t stretch, tweak or fix me. I don’t want to be a doll.
I may not fit in, because of how I feel.
But I don’t want to change. So, let me just be REAL.”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks so much for posting “Aging”. At age 58 I have decided to let my authentic self surface, after coloring my hair for over 30 years. Today is my last as a “bottle blonde” — I have an appointment with a hair colorist tomorrow to begin my transition to what my roots show me to be, about 50% gray. I am rather scared, but also excited to see what the real “me” looks like! Reading your post helped strengthen my resolve.
This website helped me get past a rough patch last week. I have been growing out my gray for about 6 months and was getting frustrated with the state of my hair last week. I am 36 and really want to see this to the end. I now have about 2 inches or so of gray. I have tried since the begining of the year to go gray gracefully. I colored my hair gray but it came out in a few days. I did this a few times and then went very blond. It killed my hair. So, now I am just letting it grow. I chopped off 3-4 inches while out of town last weekend and got a sassy new look. I am so pleased. I can now see that it will be just a few more haircuts for some areas and 6-8 months for the rest. I am excited and can’t wait. But I still worry about being labeled old. I have a young face but I still worry. Thanks for the site.
Suzy