Why I don't act my age
When they ask why I don’t act my age,
I just smile
because they won’t understand
how I was pushed into battles
that demanded more than my years.
I was forced to grow up,
to meet challenges head-on,
to carry weights that shaped my strength.
So if my footsteps sound older,
it is not pretense
it is the echo of storms
I have already survived.
N