Forever Young

Today's my birthday! This post isn't meant to be auto-biographical, although I can relate to some of it. But writing it made me smile. I hope you smile when you read it.

​Forever young, she thought, forever young. I wish I were forever young. But no. Bodies age. They betray. She flexed her hands, fingers bent with arthritis, knuckles large. Skin thin. Easily bruised. Not fair.
Back bent
Shoulders stooped
Turkey neck
Stiff joints
Sore hips
Spare tires
Saggy jowls
False teeth
Gray hair – albeit thin. At least something is thin, she thought, and continued her reverie
Creaky knees
Varicose veins
Swollen ankles
Can’t reach my toes
Bodies betray
Friends die
But, she thought, my mind is young. My brain still works. I my head, I soar. I dance. I skip. I run. I have fun. Without care. Without fear. Of falling. Of breaking. Thin bones.
Fake hips
New knees
Will they allow me to hike the hills and valleys where I live? To walk in sand and wade in waves? Please knees. You are forever young.