They say that with age, you start to disappear…
That you no longer matter. That you get in the way.
They say it with such coldness, it stings
as if fading into the background is part and parcel of growing old.
As if youre expected to accept a quiet corner,
to become little more than another piece of the furniture
silent, unmoving, out of everyones way.
But I was never made for the corners.
I wont ask permission just to exist.
I refuse to hush my voice so I wont be a bother.
I wasnt put on this earth to become a ghost of myself,
nor shrink away for the comfort of others.
No, gentlemen.
At this agewhen most expect me to fade away…
I choose instead to ignite.
I wont apologise for my wrinkles.
I wear them with pride,
each line a signature from life
proof I have loved, and laughed, and wept, and survived.
I refuse to stop being a woman
simply because I no longer fit neatly into someones ideal,
or because my bones cant bear the torment of stilettos.
I am still desire.
I am still creativity.
I am still freedom.
And if that unsettles anyone
all the better for it.
Im not ashamed of my silver hair.
Id be ashamed only if I hadnt lived long enough to earn every strand.
I am not fading.
I am not surrendering.
And I wont leave the stage.
I still dream.
I still laugh aloudunapologetically.
I still dancehowever my body lets me.
I still raise my voice to the heavens, declaring I have so much left to say.
I am not a memory.
I am a presence.
I am a slow-burning flame.
I am a living soul.
A woman marked by time
who no longer leans on emotional crutches.
A woman who doesnt seek someone elses glance to know her own strength.
So dont call me poor thing.
And dont overlook me because I am older.
Call me courageous.
Call me strong.
Call me by my name
with a firm voice and a raised glass.
Call me Margaret.
And let it be known:
I am still here…
upright, spirit ablaze.
I suppose, writing this now at the close of another day, Ive learned that real presence is forged, not given, and we have every right, at every age, to stand tall in our own skin.
