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.
I turned 45 this year and I do believe its true what they say about feeling more at home in your own skin in your 40s than ever before. I love my laugh lines and my forehead wrinkles. They remind me when I am down that I have had enough happy times to make those creases in my skin so it can't all be bad all the time.
Tyler, thank you for this! It wasn't until my 50's that I really started to see the aging taking shape before my eyes...and although I sometimes wish the reflection were a better representation of what's within, I do love that I know myself intimately through every stage of my life. My oldest friend - of 43 years now - started doing weird shit to her face back when we were still in our 30's. When I look at her now, I'm filled with sadness for the loss of expression on her face, for the lack of appreciation for what she should look like at this age, and for the desperate desire to hang on to a youthfulness that seems almost homogenous in it's cultural consistency. I'm working to normalize aging: to foster appreciation for the gray hairs and the lines that define a well-lived life, as well as the vitality and potential that is still very alive within our aging bodies. 💗