Beauty -
How much is in the eye of the beholder?
I wonder.

"You are beautiful".
He said that to me.
I wonder.

I wonder if he said that and meant I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
I wonder if he said it because he felt it only in that moment.
But I also wonder if he said it just to say it. I wonder.

When I was young I yearned to be a hero
To feel the adulation of the crowd
To feel the damsel in distress pressed against my chest
Tearfully expressing her wonderlove into my shoulder

But with age came understanding
Understanding that a yearning hero needs a villain
A single minded evil that pursues the hero
Obsessed with his demise at any and all cost

So to wish to be a hero
Is to wish for evil
And for the distress of the damsel
To burden her with the obligation of gratitude

This is the reality of all yearning heroes
All my childhood heroes carry this sin
I unknowingly worshiped at the alter of greed
The greed of a needy soul

With age comes understanding
Understanding that true heroes are so only in retrospect
A true hero is surprised by their deeds
Pulled to the job by forces unseen
left shaking by the deed
yearning only to slip back into obscurity
This is the true hero