I want them all:
the wrinkles that show off my life on this earth,
the stretchmarks from growth and from ageing and birth -
Why erase them? They only increase my self-worth.

I want them:
the sun spots, the glasses, the gray-and-white hair.
the parts that show just how long I’ve been here -
the glorious signs of my own wear-and-tear.

I want them:
the lessons, the hardships, the lifelong true friends,
the problems I’ve solved, and the ones that won’t mend -
I know that I’ll love them all in the end.

There’s not one single thing I’d return to its sender.
I want all of it - life in her wonder and splendour,
in her wreckage and grief - I will still defend her.

I will stand here with gladness, as the winds of life blow,
as we stand on our stage and take part in our show,
I will welcome it all, come sunshine or snow,
because if there’s just one tiny thing that I know,
it is this: it won’t be long before I go.

It will be just one blink, just one flutter of time,
before I’m asked to let go of all I’ve called ‘mine’,
so I choose to believe that what I have is just fine.
I wish nothing away, I sweep nothing aside.
I have nothing to prove, and not one thing to hide.

Call me unrealistic, naive, and short-sighted…
I’ll take it all, and I won’t even fight it -

because I know what I have is both fragile and wild.
It’s a miracle I embrace with my arms open wide,
with the unyielding love of a child,
with my uneven teeth in a wide-open smile -
Give me all of it - please. I’m only here for a while.

Myracle

Gratitude is