There are images honoring our years,
shining hair lit with dignity,
hands still shaping the world,
lives rich with purpose and motion.

These glimpses feel true:
elders as bearers of story,
of laughter that has endured,
of love practiced over time.

Other screens diminish us,
reduce us to punchlines,
to forgetfulness, to frailty,
to shadows of who we were.

Aging is not an obstacle,
no hurdle to clear or hide from;
it is a widening path,
a deepening of presence.

We are who we are—
thinking, learning, sharing,
offering our hands to community,
giving time shaped by experience.

Still, there be room for truth:
for slowing steps and strong spirits,
for courage in frailty,
for grace in becoming.

So let our lives be honest—
stories fully lived, still unfolding,
rooted in purpose and connection,
delighting in the world, even now.

—Patricia D. Brown