True Beauty
The moon is evil.
It conceals the pinpricks of light in the night sky
with its overpowering halo, and the moon,
all too often acknowledged by writers,
steals the attention away from the quiet purity of the stars.
But beauty is in the small things.
It is in the faces of mothers and fathers holding their newborn children,
tears running from their eyes and expressions of pure joy radiating from them.
It is in a baby laughing for her very first time,
watching her brother doing some sort of crazy freestyle dance routine.
It is in a father making a crown of flowers for his daughter,
gently setting the tiara of daisies on her head.
It is in a soldier coming home and seeing their family
for the first time in months, tears streaming down their face.
It is in a child hearing their mother’s voice for the first time,
thirteen years after their birth, tears streaming down their face.
It is in an apple being transferred from one hand to another,
the latter of which was stained from dirt off of the streets and alleyways.
It is in autumn leaves blanketing the ground
in a beautiful carpet of of reds, golds, oranges and yellows.
It is in a little boy opening a present on Christmas morning
and a puppy jumping out and licking the child’s laughing face.
These things are like stars in the sky,
true beauties that are hidden by the moon.
So the next time you look at the midnight sky,
don’t look for the moon.
Look for the stars,
and admire the story of each small light,
shining bright
in the night.