The wall clock refuses to play with me
and I drift upward
as a neighbor and his dogs growl
about the silly and the ******
while the ceiling fan
hums,
gentle and
jazz,
without a cage,
without a key.

The quarrel of the sparrows in the eaves,
The full round moon and the star-laden sky,
And the loud song of the ever-singing leaves,
Had hid away earth's old and weary cry.

And then you came with those red mournful lips,
And with you came the whole of the world's tears,
And all the trouble of her laboring ships,
And all the trouble of her myriad years.

And now the sparrows warring in the eaves,
The curd-pale moon, the white stars in the sky,
And the loud chaunting of the unquiet leaves,
Are shaken with earth's old and weary cry.

What is beauty?
Is is the piles and strokes of powder and paint we slick on our faces each morning, evening and night because we think it makes us look better?
Or is it our white, black, or yellow skin, maybe clear, covered in pimples or freckles, round, thin or a shape with no names?
Is beauty the so called 'perfect' women we see on the runway and on magazine covers, the women who starve themselves?
Maybe it's the women who weigh a ton or have to shop in the plus sizes, break a sweat when they climb a flight of stairs or order more than one main course at a restaurant?
Is beauty our skinny, chubby or obese faces, stomach or limbs, is weight merely just a number and what really matters is what we think of ourselves? What we see in the mirror every time we stare at our gorgeous bodies and faces no matter the appearance?
Is beauty the blue, green or brown in our eyes? The price of the clothes that we wear or the quality of our material possessions homes or cars?
No
For beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and if you let that beholder be someone that cannot really see what truly is inside of you...they don't matter
That beholder may be hard to find but someday you'll find someone that's kind and kind enough to say to you what everyone should hear once, twice, twenty times a day
They will say, baby you were born this way so stand up, be strong, smile that straight, crooked or brace-faced smile because it's the smile I dream of waking up to everyday
They will say, bat those beautiful lashes to show me those breath-taking eyes that I want to stare into for hours on end no matter the color
They will say give me a hug time and time again because I love having my arms around you no matter if I can feel your ribs or if my hands can't clasp together on the other side
You ask why?
Because you're beautiful

I am a ghost chased by the present
Forever burrying my mind in the future
Under ancient texts and maps that tell
Of times the world no longer speaks of

I linger and I run, then I repeat,
Until my legs give way and I slip,
Tumbling through the earth until I land
With a thud on a different continent
And I am content there until
The locals begin to know my name

I am a shadow shrouded in anonymity
Smiling at strangers, but never speaking,
Looking vaguely out of transit windows
Like I'm learning something very important
From the senseless blurs that pass us by

I am alone and I am surrounded, all at once,
And I'm not afraid to die alone because
The truth is that we all do,
No matter who's holding tight to
Our old brittle hearts and our seasoned souls

In the end it's only going to be me
And I'm enough

In the beginning
                        
                              there was
                                        
                                               a kind sound
Then a voice,
                
                          then a word:
                
                                                   be.