I am not old….she said
I am rare
I am the standing ovation
At the end of the play
I am the retrospective
Of my life as Art
I am the hours
Connected like dots
Into good sense
I am the fullness
Of existing
You think I am waiting to die
But I am waiting to be found
I am a treasure
I am a map
And these wrinkles are
Imprints of my journey
Ask me anything
Samantha Reynolds, poet..
I read these words and I cried at the beauty and the simplicity and the truth.
I thought of the women I know that have stories I would like to know
I wonder if they wish to be asked… To be found.. to be seen… To be known
As more than just “the old lady that sits on the far left pew”
Or the one that whispers to herself as she plants seeds of flowers
I wonder if those ladies I know wish I would ask them anything
I wonder if they would answer
Would I be surprised? Would they?
What about me? Would I tell stories and answer questions
If I was asked anything?
Or would I gaze away and say,
“you shouldn’t ask questions like that”
While thinking to myself of what I know
And who I am
Underneath it all
I am not getting old, not really
I am becoming my self
My body caresses my soul
My soul caresses my body
I find the treasures in the moments and the questions and the words of another woman
Jeanna’ Mead, poet, too
