They Say That with Age, You Become Invisible… That You’re No Longer Important. That You’re in the …

They say that with age, you become invisible
That youre no longer important. That you get in the way.
They utter it with a coldness that stings
as though fading from sight is simply part of the bargain of growing old.
As if youre meant to take your place in the shadows,
to become just another bit of furniture in the room
silent, still, tucked out of sight.
But I was not born for corners.
I will not seek permission simply to exist.
I will not drop my voice so that I do not disturb.
I have not come into this world to become a ghost of myself,
or to shrink, just so others are more comfortable.
No, gentlemen.
At this agewhen so many are waiting for my flame to flicker out
I choose to blaze.
I do not apologise for my wrinkles.
I wear them proudly.
Each one is a signature, written by life itself
proof that I have loved, that I have laughed, that I have wept, that I have endured.
I refuse to stop being a woman
just because I no longer fit your filters,
or because my bones rebel against heels.
I remain desire.
I remain creativity.
I remain freedom.
And if that unsettles you
all the better.
I am not ashamed of my silver hair.
Shame would be never having lived long enough to earn every strand.
I am not fading.
I am not surrendering.
And I am not stepping off the stage.
I still dream.
I still laugh aloud, full and fierce.
I still dancehowever my body allows.
And I still shout to the sky that I have so much left to say.
I am not a memory.
I am presence.
I am a slow-burning fire.
I am a living soul.
A woman with scars
one who no longer needs emotional crutches.
A woman who does not wait for anyones gaze to know her own strength.
So do not call me poor thing.
Do not overlook me because I am older.
Call me brave.
Call me fierce.
Call me by my name
with a clear voice and a raised glass.
Call me Millicent.
And let it be known:
I am still here
standing tall, soul ablaze.