I am choosing
To view wrinkles
In a new light
Especially after
Noticing them
On my eyelids
How does that even happen?
The eyeliner applied resembling
A jagged Jack-O-Lantern smile
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating
But it did introduce
A new line of questioning
What caused the lines framing my mouth?
Smiling countless smiles
Lines drawn from the corners of my eyes?
Squinting from the brightness of a warm sun
Lines gracing my forehead?
A bit of worry over the ones I love-
All these answers are signs
Traces of living
A life not ready
To be erased
Or to be forgotten