How to Read a Woman

for Virginia.

A woman’s face will crease as she ages
through every fond phase of motherhood.

Wrinkles fold just as beloved pages,
like books reminding us of all that’s good.

Now, one might read a woman by her skin
as though the signs of wear were some black ink,

But such a woman holds a depth within�"
she carries worlds more than some care to think.

Every worried frown meant that she loved us,

each stern rebuke was meant to help us grow.

She taught us compassion, conviction, trust,

and pushed us without ever letting go.

So when our marks of age won’t go unseen,
we’ll remember who showed us what they mean.