Beauty

I think some times,
When I was five,
About my best friend,
Who loved me dearly,
And I loved her,
She had beauty in its purest form,
And we would play,
Without judgement,
Her mom and my mom,
They were friends,
So we spent much time,
Unaware of our poverty,
No knowledge of grown up things,
No cares for adult reality,
Our world was bliss,
I admired her beauty,

I moved away,
Many times over,
And met others along the way,
Who also had beauty,
They were suspicious,
That I would try to take it,
Such was not the case,
I wanted only admire,
And hoped they would share,
Like my best friend,
When I was five,
They made me feel bad,
Then seeing a purity in my heart,
Shared it with me,
And they grew older,
And I moved further,

I began to notice,
When I was in high school,
How they gave their beauty,
To those who took,
I didn’t understand,
And still do not,
In class I met a fellow,
Who claimed to know,
My best friend,
From when I was five,
He reported rumors,
Of her beauteous gifts,
To those who took,
I rebuked his speech,
I knew she’d never give,
To those who take,



In naïve denial,
I tried to recall,
The last I’d seen her,
It had been years,
I remember the toys,
The petticoats,
The laughter and bubble-gum ice cream,
But her face was a blur,
I may have passed her,
In Norwalk traffic,
On my way to my grampa’s,
And never knew,
For without her beauty,
I’d know not her face,
Resigned to fact,
I moved on,

It seemed expected,
From that point on,
That I should try,
And take their beauty,
It wasn’t my way,
I dared not try corrupting such things,
I’d never dream of taking from them,
And those I loved,
Possessed such beauty,
And gave it away,
To my friends who took,
In my sickening hurt,
I beheld my salted tears,
Feeling betrayed by blindness,
To see what was left,
When their beauty was gone,

I often think,
Of the women I knew,
Who gave their beauty,
To those who took,
It breaks my heart,
To think what’s left,
And in my prime,
I still admire,
The ones who possess,
That purity of heart,
Never giving freely,
To those who take,
But would kindly share,
With those who love,
Like my best friend,
When I was five.