Poetry: "That I Have Lived" by Emily Nelson

These wrinkles are the hands of time,

The journeys I've been on

They've seen me through a thousand days,

And ev'ry victory won

These fragile hands, With exposed bones,

Are not a fearful sight

But rather, they, my faithful partners,

Rocked babies through the night

These eyes are weak, They see much less,

Than yours they've seen much more

They've guided me through birth, through death,

Through grief, through hurt, through war

These ears can hear so very little,

Yet they've learned to listen much

They perk up not for gossip now,

But for a heart to touch

Those younger often look my way,

With pity looks to give

Yet this old body doesn't mean I am dying,

But rather, that I have lived