Act Your Age

 
Can't believe it was said aloud.
It's been days
and I'm still trying to figure out
why it was necessary,  
as if the sting of healing skin isn't enough
to remind me
I've done something
reckless.
 
"You should act your age,"
as he bandaged me up...
and I don't know who prescribes
standards of behaviour
for each decade of life,
but I can wholeheartedly say
Fuck that.
 
I am acting the age
of a woman who has decided
to travel trails previously ignored,
to say words that were left unsaid,
to test and find her own limits
instead of accepting those
dictated by timidity
or submission to expectations.
And I don't care if I have to put
literal skin in this game
from time to time -
I own these risks,
life is here to be lived,
pain can be endured,
and I've been cautious long enough.
 
So yes, I AM acting my age.