Lines – beauty or curse

A new soul meets the day
When a little baby is born
Face contorted, still unsure
From mother’s womb he’s torn

Toddler’s chubby cheeks
Irresistibly beg for a kiss
Smooth, soft and round
So ignorant, full of joy and bliss

Then tooth is gone, covered in sand,
A new phase comes rushing in
Puberty soon wins the battle
With disfiguring acne on her chin

Beard grows, voice drops
Body develops into woman, into man
Goodbye innocence, bye games
Intriguing character is at hand

Then adulthood sets in and stays
Fine lines are drawn onto your face
Wrinkles of laughter, wrinkles of worries
Fun, love, sadness, sometimes disgrace

Lines, silent witnesses of emotions
Gathered as trophies for the win
You can try to rub them, fill them up
But never from within…

This is a photo of Jane Goodall, who started her daring chimpanzee research on July 14^th, 1960 in Gombe, Tanzania. And this beautiful woman has had a full and interesting life, a woman who chose to fight for her beliefs.

Do the lines on her face bother you? I think they’re magnificent!

Each line is telling a different story about challenges, self sacrifice and victory, of sadness and ecstatic joy. About daily worries and quiet happiness. Despair, loneliness, boredom and passion. Lines of expressiveness, a face that is never still.

Why are we trying so hard to get rid of those lines, when every single one is part of who we are, who we have become through the years?  Let’s be proud of the way a lifetime of emotions has shaped our face.

Lines, respected jewels… no curse!