I was once so young,
but time has a way,
of turning today,
into yesterday.
So many years gone.
Where did they go?
When the clock ticks,
it is an enemy of mine.
Look at these grooves,
in my youthful face,
the purity of my flesh,
sunken and hollow,
the brittleness of
once strong bones.
The gray in my hair,
so vital and thick.
Brown spots cling
to delicate hands.
Thickened ankles
beneath veined legs.
Stooped shoulders
bear the weight of years.
Time has caught up with me
and I cannot outrun its pace.
But I am still beautiful,
though time has marked me.
I know that I am still here,
for I can feel and touch.
And though you don’t see
the beauty I used to be,
I am still beautiful,
and time will never change,
the way I feel about me.
I see my beauty,
in these age spots,
and in my hollowed cheeks.
Beauty is my thickened ankles,
and my wrinkled skin.
I am not in the first blush of youth
as time is a thief,
of the young and of the old,
and I am thankful to be alive.
For time will never stop
and this I know.
But I shall not weep
for what is lost.
So long as I live,
I know that beauty is life
and life is beautiful.
Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
Embrace your beauty regardless if you are 9 or 99. As long as you are alive, you are beautiful for life is beautiful and in these trying times with so many losing their lives, do you have any idea how blessed you are to be alive at all? Love yourselves and love life for it is too short to worry about the trivialities of age spots, wrinkles and gray hair.
shelbycourtland 
This is very beautiful.
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Thank you Rajiv. Your comments mean a great deal to me and once again, I am humbled by this one.
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Have you ever noticed how racial differences disappear with age? How pink (I’ve quit calling them white because that’s a fiction the ruling elite impose on us) people get darker and brown people lose their pigment?
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You know I didn’t think about that until you mentioned it Dr. Bramhall. But come to think of it, I have noticed just what you have. But I must be truthful, when I start reaching the age of ‘severe’ maturity and I see myself getting lighter, I am going to shoot myself! LOL! J/K Would that I should live that long, accident prone as I am!
I just thought about all the ways that we go about trying to stop the hands of time from showing on our bodies. I should have included a photo of an older man because women are usually perceived as the shallow ones who must do everything in their power to keep old age at bay and not just appreciate the beauty of being alive and the beauty that is our bodies, though they may be older, but still stand up to the ticking of the clock.
Thank you very much for your comment Dr. Bramhall. As always, you give us food for thought, oh wise one!
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I find so much beauty in the faces of aging women. I see what was and what is. I see people that have raised a generation and continue to grow. I love the aging facing of women who allow themselves to age with grace. Grey hair is the kiss of life.
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I do too HLJ. I find so much beauty in aging women who don’t try to do anything to reverse the aging process, but will just go with the flow. It ain’t about what society thinks we should look like. When people get to be a certain age, they have weathered so many storms and yet, they are still alive and beautiful and if we grow older, we will notice the difference, but we should embrace it instead of hating like we are being programmed to do. Just like Black people are being programmed to hate themselves. We need to shake that shit off and stop falling for the bullshit. When I start turning gray, I’m going to let it be and since I take after my mother, at age 70 she has not a wrinkle on her face, at least she didn’t when I saw her last which was two years ago. And her sister who is two years older than she is looks like she’s in her 40s and has had open heart surgery. The women in my family age extremely well.
Thank you for your comment HLJ!
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Always appreciate your work and commentary sis.
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