If you go to the dictionary,
Flip to the letter L,
Find the word Lovely,
It'll probably be defined as
"Charmingly beautiful,
Beauty that appeals
To mind and eye."

But to me,
Lovely means all that
And more.

Lovely means
Being love,
Even when it means
Getting your hands *****
And feeling unbeautiful.

Lovely means
Getting up at 12:00 am
To change ***** diapers
Or calm someone down
After night terrors-
Because even if what you're doing
Isn't very lovely,
But you do it out of love,
That's when you are most lovely.

Lovely means washing the feet
Of those you hate-
Doing it with a smile
On your face-
And that's when you look
Most lovely.

Lovely is
Washing laundry
For the one thousandth time,
And cooking supper for your family,
Even when you're all cooked-out.

Lovely is
Giving birth
To the earth's Savior
In a *****, rotten, ugly-lovely stable
On a cold night.

Lovely is
Being beaten
With a cat of nine tails whip,
Hanging on the cross,
Bloodied brow,
Grieving heart.

Lovely is sacrifice,
And pain
And bleeding forgiveness
And scars of heartache
From what some would call
"Loving too much"
But if you live lovely,
You know you can never
Love too much.

Lovely is more
Than lipstick
And blush,
And fluttering your eyes
And faking the right smile.

Lovely is
Getting hands *****
And loving until
You don't think you can,
And then loving with all you have
And more.

Lovely is
More than being beautiful,
Lovely is living life
Beautifully,
Even when it means
Being unbeautiful.