That orange sunset
That blinds so bright when driving

A cheek resting on the cool pillowcase
For two hours before the final

The fragility of a dying child
Set deep in the heart of ICU

Raw, unabashed and unflinching
The pain and awkwardness it brings

Peace that surrounds and comforts
Amid the knowledge of ever occurring chaos

In the eye of the beholder
Past the cataracts and myopia

In the heart, pulsing and beating
Valves working in perfect harmony

In the essence of another
More dear to you than life itself

The innocence of a young child
Waving the streamer at the drug lord

In the inquisitive and intelligent mind
Slow to assume yet quick to think

In the color coded shelves of scents
And lotions that moisturize

Pale pink nail polish dried just perfectly
And how it matches the color on your toes

You find it in the fridge
Chocolate pudding under a layer of whipped cream

The black notes printed on white paper
And the magic of the sound they produce  

In the blackness of the night
Highlighted by twinkling and falling stars

In the Alpha and the Omega
His words printed on crumbling parchment

Ink drawn on paper to create words
Some tear stained and smeared

The sand you’ve dug your toes into
That’s slowly becoming wet with the rising tide

At the Sally Beauty Supply store
And within the self, where bought items don’t make a difference.

It catches me by the throat,
Then breathes deeply into my lungs
Leaving me unable to exhale,
And bursting at the seams at the same time.

Forces me to look within,
To search for the beauty I know I hold.
To ignore the ugliness that I seem to find,
And accept the fact that

We are,
It is,

I am,

The epitome of beauty.