Poem 1 min

Beauty and Pain

Kaila Castanon

Age 18+ Category | Spring into Poetry Contest 2023 | San José Public Library

Do not, I beg, compare me to a rose

A rose is happy upon the glass case

Perfect, pretty, a balm for your grand woes

A rose is happy constrain'd to a vase

At times I act pretty, perfect, lovely

And I may be eas'ly sway'd, to and fro

But ev'ry day I burn in the sun's glee

So in the midnight, when alone, I go

I go where pretty is not my armour

I go where others' glee gives not my pain

Where glass cases and vases face censure

In the stars, I am alone, free, no chain

But soon the stars go down, the sun burns bright

I paint beauty ‘round me, no thorns, no fight

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