Beauty.

She never thought she was ugly, on the contrary, she believed herself to be charming and pretty.

Her belief lent her a poise and grace that was not easy to find in girls her age.

She often admired herself --  the long slender fingers, the curvy eyelashes, the little button nose,

Her eyes, she thought, were a bit small, but it did not affect her confidence, which was very, very tall.

Of her height she was very proud, so what if some parts of her body were a little stout?

Her wavy hair were her pride, her smooth complexion made her apple of everyone's eyes.

And then one day she met her best friend, the meeting was the beginning to many a end.

The friend thought she was dark and totally out of grace, she commented on how her silver earrings shone on a sun tanned face;

When a photographer said she could be a model so proud, the friend laughed about it out loud.

The laughter burnt a hole in a heart, something she could never throw apart;

The comments continued to flow -- sometimes it was her skin, sometimes face, sometimes even her small toe.

The wavy hair now seemed unruly, the copper skin suddenly became dark and ugly,

Her slender fingers ceased to matter, the long eyelashes were used to conceal tears lest they would splatter.

Her confidence fled like mice from a sinking ship, her poise went away on a lifelong trip,

The mirror became her biggest enemy, and vanity seemed like the deadliest blasphemy.

The friend left long ago, but not before her words dug deep trenches in her ego,

For three-fourth of her life she bore the burden of her comments, hating herself for things that she thought she ought to lament.

Today she finally decides, she needs to no longer hide -- the hurt, the pain, the dark skin, the thinning mane, she needs to take everything in her stride.

For she don't know what the friend really meant, was it actually a vicious jibe or just a kid's innocent comment?

Beauty they say rests in the eye, but the real beauty is what radiates from inside,

It does not matter if you are dark or light, if your eyes are small or skin bright, what matters is your confidence and your pride.

Let no one tell you how you should look, feel or be -- others opinion of you is your greatest enemy,

Be proud of whoever you are -- the sun, the moon, or just a tiny star;

For the sun and moon maybe full of might, but all we wish for is some magical starlight. 

*