Beauty and Pain

Kaila Castanon

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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